Semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

An object is to provide a semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor in which miniaturization is achieved while favorable characteristics are maintained. The semiconductor includes an oxide semiconductor layer, a source electrode and a drain electrode in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer, a gate electrode overlapping with the oxide semiconductor layer, a gate insulating layer provided between the oxide semiconductor layer and the gate electrode, and an insulating layer provided in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer. A side surface of the oxide semiconductor layer is in contact with the source electrode or the drain electrode. An upper surface of the oxide semiconductor layer overlaps with the source electrode or the drain electrode with the insulating layer interposed between the oxide semiconductor layer and the source electrode or the drain electrode.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device. Here,semiconductor devices refer to general elements and devices whichfunction by utilizing semiconductor characteristics.

BACKGROUND ART

There are a wide variety of metal oxides and such metal oxides are usedfor various applications. Indium oxide is a well-known material and hasbeen used for transparent electrodes required in liquid crystal displaydevices or the like.

Some metal oxides have semiconductor characteristics. The examples ofsuch metal oxides having semiconductor characteristics are, for example,tungsten oxide, tin oxide, indium oxide, zinc oxide, and the like. Athin film transistor in which a channel formation region is formed usingsuch metal oxides is already known (for example, see Patent Documents 1to 4, Non-Patent Document 1, and the like).

As metal oxides, not only single-component oxides but alsomulti-component oxides are known. For example, InGaO₃(ZnO)_(m) (m:natural number) having a homologous phase is known as a multi-componentoxide semiconductor including In, Ga, and Zn (for example, seeNon-Patent Documents 2 to 4 and the like).

Furthermore, it is confirmed that an oxide semiconductor including suchan In—Ga—Zn-based oxide is applicable to a channel formation region of athin film transistor (for example, see Patent Document 5, Non-PatentDocuments 5 and 6, and the like).

REFERENCE Patent Documents

-   [Patent Document 1] Japanese Published Patent Application No.    S60-198861-   [Patent Document 2] Japanese Published Patent Application No.    H08-264794-   [Patent Document 3] Japanese Translation of PCT International    Application No. H11-505377-   [Patent Document 4] Japanese Published Patent Application No.    2000-150900-   [Patent Document 5] Japanese Published Patent Application No.    2004-103957

Non-Patent Documents

-   [Non-Patent Document 1] M. W. Prins, K. O. Grosse-Holz, G    Muller, J. F. M. Cillessen, J. B. Giesbers, R. P. Weening, and R. M.    Wolf, “A ferroelectric transparent thin-film transistor”, Appl.    Phys. Lett., 17 Jun. 1996, Vol. 68, pp. 3650-3652-   [Non-Patent Document 2] M. Nakamura, N. Kimizuka, and T. Mohri, “The    Phase Relations in the In₂O₃—Ga₂ZnO₄—ZnO System at 1350° C.”, J.    Solid State Chem., 1991, Vol. 93, pp. 298-315-   [Non-Patent Document 3] N. Kimizuka, M. Isobe, and M. Nakamura,    “Syntheses and Single-Crystal Data of Homologous Compounds,    In₂O₃(ZnO)_(m) (m=3, 4, and 5), InGaO₃(ZnO)₃, and Ga₂O₃(ZnO)_(m)    (m=7, 8, 9, and 16) in the In₂O₃—ZnGa₂O₄—ZnO System”, J. Solid State    Chem., 1995, Vol. 116, pp. 170-178-   [Non-Patent Document 4] M. Nakamura, N. Kimizuka, T. Mohri, and M.    Isobe, “Syntheses and crystal structures of new homologous    compounds, indium iron zinc oxides (InFeO₃(ZnO)_(m)) (m:natural    number) and related compounds”, KOTAI BUTSURI (SOLID STATE PHYSICS),    1993, Vol. 28, No. 5, pp. 317-327-   [Non-Patent Document 5] K. Nomura, H. Ohta, K. Ueda, T. Kamiya, M.    Hirano, and H. Hosono, “Thin-film transistor fabricated in    single-crystalline transparent oxide semiconductor”, SCIENCE, 2003,    Vol. 300, pp. 1269-1272-   [Non-Patent Document 6] K. Nomura, H. Ohta, A. Takagi, T. Kamiya, M.    Hirano, and H. Hosono, “Room-temperature fabrication of transparent    flexible thin-film transistors using amorphous oxide    semiconductors”, NATURE, 2004, Vol. 432, pp. 488-492

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In order to achieve high-speed operation, low power consumption, costreduction, or the like of a transistor, it is necessary to miniaturize atransistor.

In the case where a transistor is miniaturized, a defect generated in amanufacturing process becomes a major problem. For example, in the casewhere a transistor is miniaturized, a short-channel effect becomes aproblem. Here, the short-channel effect refers to degradation ofelectrical characteristics which becomes pronounced with miniaturizationof a transistor (a reduction in channel length (L)). The short-channeleffect results from the effect of an electric field of a drain on asource. Specific examples of the short-channel effect are decrease inthe threshold voltage, increase in the subthreshold swing (S value),increase in leakage current, and the like. In particular, it is knownthat a transistor including an oxide semiconductor has small off-statecurrent at room temperature as compared to a transistor includingsilicon. This is thought to be attributed to the fact that carriersgenerated by thermal excitation are few, that is, the carrier density islow. A transistor including a material having low carrier density tendsto show a short-channel effect such as decrease in the thresholdvoltage.

Therefore, it is an object of one embodiment of the disclosed inventionto provide a semiconductor device which achieves miniaturization whiledefects are suppressed. Further, it is another object to provide asemiconductor device which achieves miniaturization while favorablecharacteristics are maintained.

One embodiment of the present invention is a semiconductor deviceincluding an oxide semiconductor layer, a source electrode and a drainelectrode in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer, a gateelectrode overlapping with the oxide semiconductor layer, a gateinsulating layer provided between the oxide semiconductor layer and thegate electrode, and an insulating layer provided in contact with theoxide semiconductor layer. A side surface of the oxide semiconductorlayer is in contact with the source electrode or the drain electrode. Anupper surface of the oxide semiconductor layer overlaps with the sourceelectrode or the drain electrode with the insulating layer interposedbetween the oxide semiconductor layer and the source electrode or thedrain electrode.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a semiconductor deviceincluding a gate electrode provided over a substrate, a gate insulatinglayer provided over the gate electrode, an oxide semiconductor layerprovided over the gate insulating layer, an insulating layer provided onand in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer, and a sourceelectrode and a drain electrode provided over the insulating layer andthe gate insulating layer. A side surface of the oxide semiconductorlayer is in contact with the source electrode or the drain electrode. Anupper end of the side surface of the oxide semiconductor layer alignswith a lower end of a side surface of the insulating layer.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a semiconductor deviceincluding an oxide semiconductor layer provided over a substrate, aninsulating layer provided on and in contact with the oxide semiconductorlayer, a source electrode and a drain electrode provided over thesubstrate and the insulating layer, a gate insulating layer providedover the insulating layer, the source electrode, and the drainelectrode, and a gate electrode provided over the gate insulating layer.A side surface of the oxide semiconductor layer is in contact with thesource electrode or the drain electrode. An upper surface of the oxidesemiconductor layer overlaps with the source electrode or the drainelectrode with the insulating layer interposed between the oxidesemiconductor layer and the source electrode or the drain electrode.

In the above structure, it is preferable that an upper end of the sidesurface of the oxide semiconductor layer align with a lower end of theside surface of the insulating layer. Further, it is preferable thateach of the source electrode and the drain electrode include a firstconductive layer and a second conductive layer having higher resistancethan the first conductive layer and that the second conductive layer bein contact with the oxide semiconductor layer.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a semiconductor deviceincluding a gate electrode provided over a substrate, a gate insulatinglayer provided over the gate electrode, a source electrode and a drainelectrode provided over the gate insulating layer each of which includesa first conductive layer and a second conductive layer having higherresistance than the first conductive layer, an oxide semiconductor layerwhich overlaps with the gate electrode and is provided in contact withthe second conductive layer, and an insulating layer provided betweenthe first conductive layer and the oxide semiconductor layer.

In the above structure, it is preferable that the second conductivelayer have a region extending beyond a side surface of the firstconductive layer in a channel length direction. In addition, thethickness of the second conductive layer is preferably 5 nm to 15 nm.Moreover, the second conductive layer is preferably formed of a nitrideof a metal.

Here, semiconductor devices refer to general devices which function byutilizing semiconductor characteristics. For example, a display device,a memory device, an integrated circuit, and the like are included in thecategory of the semiconductor device.

In this specification and the like, the term such as “over” or “below”does not necessarily mean that a component is placed “directly on” or“directly below” another component. For example, the expression “a gateelectrode over a gate insulating layer” can mean the case where there isan additional component between the gate insulating layer and the gateelectrode. Moreover, the terms such as “over” and “below” are only usedfor convenience of description and can include the case where therelation of components is reversed, unless otherwise specified.

In addition, in this specification and the like, the term such as“electrode” or “wiring” does not limit a function of a component. Forexample, an “electrode” is sometimes used as part of a “wiring”, andvice versa. Furthermore, the term “electrode” or “wiring” can includethe case where a plurality of “electrodes” or “wirings” are formed in anintegrated manner.

Functions of a “source” and a “drain” are sometimes replaced with eachother when a transistor of opposite polarity is used or when thedirection of current flow is changed in circuit operation, for example.Therefore, the terms “source” and “drain” can be replaced with eachother in this specification.

Note that in this specification and the like, the term “electricallyconnected” includes the case where components are connected through anobject having any electric function. There is no particular limitationon an object having any electric function as long as electric signalscan be transmitted and received between components that are connectedthrough the object. Examples of an “object having any electric function”are a switching element such as a transistor, a resistor, an inductor, acapacitor, and an element with a variety of functions as well as anelectrode and a wiring.

According to one embodiment of the disclosed invention, an electricfield between the source electrode and the drain electrode can berelaxed when the vicinity of the interface where the oxide semiconductorlayer is in contact with the source electrode or the drain electrode ismade to be a high resistance region. Therefore, a short-channel effectsuch as decrease in the threshold voltage can be suppressed.

Thus, the problems with miniaturization can be solved. As a result, thesize of the transistor can be sufficiently reduced. When the size of thetransistor is sufficiently reduced, the size of a semiconductor deviceis also reduced and thus the number of semiconductor devicesmanufactured from one substrate is increased. Accordingly, manufacturingcost per semiconductor device is reduced. Since the semiconductor deviceis miniaturized, a semiconductor device with a size similar to that ofthe conventional semiconductor device can have improved functions.Further, effects such as high speed operation, reduction in powerconsumption, and the like can be obtained because of reduction inchannel length. That is, miniaturization of a transistor including anoxide semiconductor is achieved in accordance with one embodiment of thedisclosed invention, and various effects accompanying therewith can alsobe obtained.

In this manner, according to one embodiment of the disclosed invention,a semiconductor device which achieves miniaturization while defects aresuppressed or favorable characteristics are maintained can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are each a cross sectional view of a semiconductordevice;

FIGS. 2A to 2E are cross-sectional views of manufacturing steps of asemiconductor device;

FIGS. 3A to 3C are each a cross-sectional view of a semiconductordevice;

FIGS. 4A to 4F are cross-sectional views of manufacturing steps of asemiconductor device;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are each a cross-sectional view of a semiconductordevice;

FIGS. 6A to 6E are cross-sectional views of manufacturing steps of asemiconductor device;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 8A to 8D are cross-sectional views of manufacturing steps of asemiconductor device;

FIGS. 9A1, 9A2, and 9B are each an example of a circuit diagram of asemiconductor device;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are each an example of a circuit diagram of asemiconductor device;

FIGS. 11A to 11C are each an example of a circuit diagram of asemiconductor device; and

FIGS. 12A to 12F are each an example of an electronic device.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is notlimited to the following description and it will be readily appreciatedby those skilled in the art that modes and details can be modified invarious ways without departing from the spirit and the scope of thepresent invention. Therefore, the present invention should not beconstrued as being limited to the description in the followingembodiment.

Note that the position, the size, the range, or the like of eachstructure illustrated in drawings and the like is not accuratelyrepresented in some cases for easy understanding. Therefore, thedisclosed invention is not necessarily limited to the position, size,range, or the like as disclosed in the drawings and the like.

In this specification and the like, ordinal numbers such as “first”,“second”, and “third” are used in order to avoid confusion amongcomponents, and the terms do not mean limitation of the number ofcomponents.

Embodiment 1

In this embodiment, a structure and a manufacturing process of asemiconductor device according to one embodiment of the disclosedinvention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B and FIGS.2A to 2E.

<Example of Structure of Semiconductor Device>

FIGS. 1A and 1B each illustrate a cross-sectional structure of atransistor as an example of a semiconductor device. In each of FIGS. 1Aand 1B, a bottom gate transistor is illustrated as a transistor of oneembodiment of the disclosed invention.

A transistor 180 illustrated in FIG. 1A includes, over a substrate 100,a gate electrode 148, a gate insulating layer 146 provided over the gateelectrode 148, an oxide semiconductor layer 144 a provided over the gateinsulating layer 146, an insulating layer 150 a provided on and incontact with the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a, and a source electrode141 a and a drain electrode 141 b provided over the gate insulatinglayer 146 and the insulating layer 150 a.

In the transistor 180 illustrated in FIG. 1A, side surfaces of the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 a are in contact with the source electrode 141 aand the drain electrode 141 b. Further, upper ends of the side surfacesof the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a align with lower ends of sidesurfaces of the insulating layer 150 a and the oxide semiconductor layer144 a overlaps with the source electrode 141 a and the drain electrode141 b with the insulating layer 150 a over the oxide semiconductor layer144 a therebetween. That is, the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a is incontact with the source electrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 bonly at the side surfaces.

In this specification, the “side surface” means a surface generated insuch a manner that an oxide semiconductor layer, a conductive film, orthe like is cut in a direction substantially perpendicular to a surfaceof the substrate. Further, the “side surface” means a surface generatedin such a manner that an oxide semiconductor layer, a conductive film,or the like is cut at a range of ±30° to ±60° with respect to adirection perpendicular to the surface of the substrate. That is, the“side surface” means a cut surface generated by etching a film-likestructure. Note that in this specification, “aligning with” includes“substantially aligning with”. For example, a side surface of a layer Aand a side surface of a layer B, which are included in a stackedstructure and etched using the same mask, are considered to align witheach other.

Alternatively, as in a transistor 190 illustrated in FIG. 1B, astructure in which the source electrode 141 a has a structure in which asecond conductive layer 145 a and a first conductive layer 142 a arestacked in this order and the drain electrode 141 b has a structure inwhich a second conductive layer 145 b and a first conductive layer 142 bare stacked in this order may be employed.

<Example of Manufacturing Steps of Transistor>

An example of steps of manufacturing the transistor illustrated in FIG.1A will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2E below.

First, a conductive film is formed over the substrate 100 having aninsulating surface and the conductive film is selectively etched intothe gate electrode 148 (see FIG. 2A). Note that the entire surface ofthe substrate 100 is not necessarily an insulating surface and part maybe conductive.

Although there is no particular limitation on a substrate which can beused as the substrate 100, it is necessary that the substrate have atleast heat resistance high enough to withstand heat treatment performedlater. For example, a substrate such as a glass substrate, a ceramicsubstrate, a quartz substrate, or a sapphire substrate can be used.Alternatively, a single crystal semiconductor substrate or apolycrystalline semiconductor substrate made of silicon, siliconcarbide, or the like, a compound semiconductor substrate made of silicongermanium or the like, an SOI substrate, or the like can be used as longas the substrate has an insulating surface. A semiconductor element maybe provided over the substrate. Further, a base film may be providedover the substrate 100.

The conductive film to be the gate electrode 148 can be formed by a PVDmethod typified by a sputtering method or a CVD method such as a plasmaCVD method. As a material of the conductive film to be the gateelectrode 148, an element selected from aluminum, chromium, copper,tantalum, titanium, molybdenum, and tungsten, a nitride thereof, analloy containing any of the above elements as its component, or the likecan be used. One or more materials selected from manganese, magnesium,zirconium, and beryllium may be used. Alternatively, aluminum combinedwith one or more of elements selected from titanium, tantalum, tungsten,molybdenum, chromium, neodymium, and scandium may be used. Furtheralternatively, a conductive metal oxide such as indium oxide (In₂O₃),tin oxide (SnO₂), zinc oxide (ZnO), an alloy of indium oxide and tinoxide (In₂O₃—SnO₂, which is abbreviated to ITO in some cases), an alloyof indium oxide and zinc oxide (In₂O₃—ZnO), or any of these metal oxidematerials in which silicon or silicon oxide is included can be used.

Note that when the work function of the material of the gate electrode148 is substantially the same as or smaller than the electron affinityof the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a, the threshold voltage of thetransistor might shift in the negative direction in miniaturization ofthe transistor. Accordingly, it is preferable that a material which hasthe work function larger than the electron affinity of the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 a be used for the gate electrode 148. As suchmaterials, for example, tungsten, platinum, gold, silicon to whichp-type conductivity is imparted, or the like is given.

Further, the gate electrode 148 may have a single-layer structure or astacked-layer structure of two or more layers. The thickness of the gateelectrode 148 is 10 nm to 400 nm, preferably 100 nm to 200 nm.

Here, ultraviolet light, a KrF laser beam, or an ArF laser beam ispreferably used for light exposure for forming a mask used in etching toform the gate electrode 148. Particularly for light exposure in the casewhere the processing dimension is less than 25 nm, light exposure forforming a mask is preferably performed with extreme ultraviolet lightwhose wavelength is several nanometers to several tens of nanometers,which is extremely short. In light exposure using extreme ultravioletlight, resolution is high and depth of focus is large, which aresuitable for miniaturization.

In etching the conductive film, end portions of the gate electrode 148are preferably tapered as illustrated in FIG. 2A. This is for theprevention of disconnection of the gate insulating layer 146 or the likewhen the gate insulating layer 146 or the like is formed over the gateelectrode 148 in a later step.

Next, the gate insulating layer 146 is formed so as to cover the gateelectrode 148 (see FIG. 2B).

The gate insulating layer 146 can be formed by a CVD method, asputtering method, or the like. The gate insulating layer 146 ispreferably formed so as to include silicon oxide, silicon nitride,silicon oxynitride, aluminum oxide, tantalum oxide, hafnium oxide,yttrium oxide, hafnium silicate (HfSi_(x)O_(y) (x>0, y>0)), hafniumsilicate (HfSi_(x)O_(y) (x>0, y>0)) to which nitrogen is added, hafniumaluminate (HfAl_(x)O_(y) (x>0, y>0)) to which nitrogen is added, or thelike. Note that the gate insulating layer 146 may have a single-layerstructure or a layered structure. There is no particular limitation onthe thickness; however, in the case where a semiconductor device isminiaturized, the thickness is preferably small for ensuring operationof the transistor. For example, in the case where silicon oxide is used,the thickness can be set to greater than or equal to 1 nm and less thanor equal to 100 nm, preferably greater than or equal to 10 nm and lessthan or equal to 50 nm.

As described above, when the gate insulating layer 146 is thin, there isa problem of gate leakage due to a tunneling effect or the like. Inorder to solve the problem of gate leakage, it is preferable that thegate insulating layer 146 be formed using a high dielectric constant(high-k) material such as hafnium oxide, tantalum oxide, yttrium oxide,hafnium silicate (HfSi_(x)O_(y) (x>0, y>0)), hafnium silicate(HfSi_(x)O_(y) (x>0, y>0)) to which nitrogen is added, or hafniumaluminate (HfAl_(x)O_(y) (x>0, y>0)) to which nitrogen is added. Withthe use of a material with a high dielectric constant (high-k) materialfor the gate insulating layer 146, the thickness of the gate insulatinglayer 146 can be large so as to ensure electrical characteristics andprevent gate leakage. Note that a stacked structure of a film includinga high dielectric constant (high-k) material and a film including any ofsilicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, silicon nitrideoxide, aluminum oxide, and the like may also be employed.

Next, an oxide semiconductor layer 144 is formed over the gateinsulating layer 146 by a sputtering method and an insulating layer 150is formed over the oxide semiconductor layer 144 (see FIG. 2C).

As the oxide semiconductor layer 144, an In—Sn—Ga—Zn—O-based oxidesemiconductor layer which is a four-component metal oxide; anIn—Ga—Zn—O-based oxide semiconductor layer, an In—Sn—Zn—O-based oxidesemiconductor layer, an In—Al—Zn—O-based oxide semiconductor layer, aSn—Ga—Zn—O-based oxide semiconductor layer, an Al—Ga—Zn—O-based oxidesemiconductor layer, or a Sn—Al—Zn—O-based oxide semiconductor layerwhich are three-component metal oxide; an In—Zn—O-based oxidesemiconductor layer, a Sn—Zn—O-based oxide semiconductor layer, anAl—Zn—O-based oxide semiconductor layer, a Zn—Mg—O-based oxidesemiconductor layer, a Sn—Mg—O-based oxide semiconductor layer, or anIn—Mg—O-based oxide semiconductor layer which are two-component metaloxide; or an In—O-based oxide semiconductor layer, a Sn—O-based oxidesemiconductor layer or a Zn—O-based oxide semiconductor layer which aresingle-component metal oxide can be used.

In particular, an In—Ga—Zn—O-based oxide semiconductor material hassufficiently high resistance when there is no electric field and thusoff-state current can be sufficiently reduced. In addition, with highfield-effect mobility, the In—Ga—Zn—O-based oxide semiconductor materialis suitable for a material used in a semiconductor device.

As a typical example of the In—Ga—Zn—O-based oxide semiconductormaterial, one represented by InGaO₃ (ZnO), (m>0) is given. Further,there is an oxide semiconductor material represented by InMO₃(ZnO)_(m)(m>0) using M instead of Ga. Here, M denotes one or more metal elementsselected from gallium (Ga), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni),manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), and the like. For example, M may be Ga, Gaand Al, Ga and Fe, Ga and Ni, Ga and Mn, Ga and Co, or the like. Notethat the above-described compositions are derived from the crystalstructures that the oxide semiconductor material can have and are mereexamples.

As a target for forming the oxide semiconductor layer 144 by asputtering method, a target having a composition ratio of In:Ga:Zn=1:x:y(x is greater than or equal to 0, and y is greater than or equal to 0.5and less than or equal to 5) is preferable. For example, a metal oxidetarget having a composition ratio of In:Ga:Zn=1:1:1 [atomic ratio] (x=1,y=1) (i.e., In₂O₃:Ga₂O₃:ZnO=1:1:2 [molar ratio]) can be used.Alternatively, a metal oxide target having a composition ratio ofIn:Ga:Zn=1:1:0.5 [atomic ratio] (x=1, y=0.5) (i.e.,In₂O₃:Ga₂O₃:ZnO=1:1:1 [molar ratio]); a metal oxide target having acomposition ratio of In:Ga:Zn=1:1:2 [atomic ratio] (x=1, y=2) (i.e.,In₂O₃:Ga₂O₃:ZnO=1:1:4 [molar ratio]); or a metal oxide target having acomposition ratio of In:Ga:Zn=1:0:1 [atomic ratio] (x=0, y=1) (i.e.,In₂O₃:ZnO=1:2 [molar ratio]) can be used.

In this embodiment, the oxide semiconductor layer 144 having anamorphous structure is formed by a sputtering method using anIn—Ga—Zn—O-based metal oxide target.

The relative density of the metal oxide in the metal oxide target isgreater than or equal to 80%, preferably greater than or equal to 95%,and more preferably greater than or equal to 99.9%. With the use of themetal oxide target with high relative density, the oxide semiconductorlayer 144 having a dense structure can be formed.

The atmosphere in which the oxide semiconductor layer 144 is formed ispreferably a rare gas (typically argon) atmosphere, an oxygenatmosphere, or a mixed atmosphere of a rare gas (typically argon) andoxygen. Specifically, it is preferable to use, for example, ahigh-purity gas atmosphere from which an impurity such as hydrogen,water, a hydroxyl group, or hydride is removed to a concentration of 1ppm or less (preferably, 10 ppb or less).

In forming the oxide semiconductor layer 144, for example, an object tobe processed (here, a structure including the substrate 100) is held ina treatment chamber that is kept under reduced pressure and the objectto be processed is heated so that the temperature of the object to beprocessed is higher than or equal to 100° C. and lower than 550° C.,preferably higher than or equal to 200° C. and lower than or equal to400° C. Alternatively, the temperature of the object to be processed informing the oxide semiconductor layer 144 may be room temperature. Then,a sputtering gas from which hydrogen, water, and the like are removed isintroduced while moisture in the treatment chamber is removed, wherebythe oxide semiconductor layer 144 is formed using the above-describedmetal oxide target. In forming the oxide semiconductor layer 144 whileheating the object to be processed, impurities in the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 can be reduced. In addition, damage due to thesputtering can be reduced. In order to remove moisture in the treatmentchamber, an entrapment vacuum pump is preferably used. For example, acryopump, an ion pump, a titanium sublimation pump, or the like can beused. A turbo pump provided with a cold trap may be used. By evacuationwith the cryopump or the like, hydrogen, water, and the like can beremoved from the treatment chamber, whereby the impurity concentrationof the oxide semiconductor layer 144 can be reduced.

The oxide semiconductor layer 144 can be formed under the followingconditions, for example: the distance between the object to be processedand the target is 170 mm, the pressure is 0.4 Pa, the direct current(DC) power is 0.5 kW, and the atmosphere is an oxygen (oxygen: 100%)atmosphere, an argon (argon: 100%) atmosphere, or a mixed atmosphereincluding oxygen and argon. Note that it is preferable to use a pulseddirect-current (DC) power source because dust (such as powder substancesgenerated at the time of deposition) can be reduced and the thicknessdistribution is uniform. The thickness of the oxide semiconductor layer144 is greater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to 30 nm,preferably greater than or equal to 5 nm and less than or equal to 15nm, for example. When the oxide semiconductor layer 144 has such athickness, a contact area between the oxide semiconductor layer 144 aand the source electrode 141 a to be formed later and a contact areabetween the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a and the drain electrode 141b to be formed later can be reduced, so that a short-channel effect dueto miniaturization can be suppressed. Note that an appropriate thicknessvaries depending on the material for the oxide semiconductor, the usageof the semiconductor device, or the like, and thus the thickness can beselected as appropriate depending on the material, the usage, or thelike.

Note that before the oxide semiconductor layer 144 is formed by asputtering method, a substance attached to a surface to be processed(e.g., a surface of the gate insulating layer 146) is preferably removedby reverse sputtering in which an argon gas is introduced and plasma isgenerated. Here, the reverse sputtering is a method by which ionscollide with a surface to be processed so that the surface is modified,in contrast to normal sputtering by which ions collide with a sputteringtarget. An example of a method for making ions collide with a surface tobe processed is a method in which high-frequency voltage is applied tothe surface in an argon atmosphere and plasma is generated in thevicinity of the object. Note that an atmosphere of nitrogen, helium,oxygen, or the like may be used instead of an argon atmosphere.

Then, the insulating layer 150 is formed over the oxide semiconductorlayer 144. The insulating layer 150 is formed to have a thickness ofgreater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to 50 nm,preferably greater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to 10nm, for example. In this embodiment, a silicon oxide film is formed asthe insulating layer 150.

Further, the oxide semiconductor layer 144 and the insulating layer 150may be formed successively without exposure to the air. By successiveformation, the interface between the oxide semiconductor layer 144 andthe insulating layer 150 can be formed without being contaminated withair components or contamination impurity elements (e.g., hydrogen orwater) contained in the air; thus, variations in characteristics oftransistors can be reduced.

Next, the oxide semiconductor layer 144 and the insulating layer 150 areselectively etched by a method such as etching with the use of a mask toform the island-shaped oxide semiconductor layer 144 a and theisland-shaped insulating layer 150 a (see FIG. 2D). Here, theisland-shaped oxide semiconductor layer 144 a is formed in a regionoverlapping with the gate electrode 148.

Ultraviolet light, a KrF laser beam, or an ArF laser beam is preferablyused for light exposure for forming a mask used in etching to form theisland-shaped oxide semiconductor layer 144 a and the island-shapedinsulating layer 150 a. Particularly for light exposure in the casewhere the channel length (L) is less than 25 nm, light exposure forforming a mask is preferably performed with extreme ultraviolet lightwhose wavelength is several nanometers to several tens of nanometers,which is extremely short. In light exposure using extreme ultravioletlight, resolution is high and depth of focus is large, which aresuitable for miniaturization.

Wet etching or dry etching can be used in etching of the insulatinglayer 150 and the oxide semiconductor layer 144 and wet etching and dryetching can be used in combination. The etching conditions (e.g., anetching gas, an etchant, etching time, and temperature) are set asappropriate depending on the material so that the insulating layer 150and the oxide semiconductor layer 144 can be etched into desired shapes.Note that dry etching is preferably used for reduction in channel length(L) of a transistor. As an etching gas used in dry etching, for example,a gas containing fluorine such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), nitrogentrifluoride (NF₃), trifluoromethane (CHF₃), or octafluorocyclobutane(C₄F₈), a mixed gas of tetrafluoromethane (CF₄) and hydrogen, or thelike can be used. Furthermore, a rare gas (e.g., helium (He), argon(Ar), or xenon (Xe)), carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or the like maybe added to the above gas.

As the dry etching, a parallel plate reactive ion etching (RIE) method,an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching method, or the like can beused. Also in this case, etching conditions (e.g., the amount ofelectric power applied to a coiled electrode, the amount of electricpower applied to an electrode on the substrate side, and the electrodetemperature on the substrate side) need to be set as appropriate.

In addition, in etching of the oxide semiconductor layer 144 and theinsulating layer 150, end portions of the oxide semiconductor layer 144and the insulating layer 150 are preferably tapered as illustrated inFIG. 2D. This is for the prevention of disconnection of the sourceelectrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 b when the source electrode141 a and the drain electrode 141 b are formed over the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 and the insulating layer 150 in a later step.

As described above, the insulating layer 150 and the oxide semiconductorlayer 144 are collectively etched, so that the upper ends of the sidesurfaces of the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a can easily align withthe lower ends of the side surfaces of the insulating layer 150 a.

Here, the channel length (L) of the transistor 180 is determined inaccordance with the width of the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a.Although an appropriate channel length (L) differs depending on theusage of the transistor 180, the channel length (L) can be greater thanor equal to 10 nm and less than or equal to 1000 nm, preferably greaterthan or equal to 20 nm and less than or equal to 400 nm, for example.

In this embodiment, the insulating layer 150 and the oxide semiconductorlayer 144 are collectively etched; however, these is no limitationthereto and the insulating layer 150 and the oxide semiconductor layer144 can be individually etched. Further, it is possible that the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 is formed and selectively etched into theisland-shaped oxide semiconductor layer 144 a, and then the insulatinglayer 150 is formed and selectively etched into the island-shapedinsulating layer 150 a.

After that, heat treatment (first heat treatment) is preferablyperformed on the oxide semiconductor layer 144. Through the first heattreatment, excessive hydrogen (including water or a hydroxyl group) inthe oxide semiconductor layer 144 is removed, a structure of the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 is improved, and defect levels in an energy gapcan be reduced. The first heat treatment is performed at a temperaturehigher than or equal to 300° C. and lower than 550° C., or higher thanor equal to 400° C. and lower than or equal to 500° C., for example.

The heat treatment can be performed in such a way that, for example, anobject to be heated is introduced into an electric furnace in which aresistance heating element or the like is used, and heated under anitrogen atmosphere at 450° C. for one hour. The oxide semiconductorlayer 144 is not exposed to the air during the heat treatment so thatentry of water and hydrogen can be prevented.

The heat treatment apparatus is not limited to the electric furnace andmay be an apparatus for heating an object by thermal conduction orthermal radiation from a medium such as a heated gas. For example, arapid thermal anneal (RTA) apparatus such as a gas rapid thermal anneal(GRTA) apparatus or a lamp rapid thermal anneal (LRTA) apparatus can beused. An LRTA apparatus is an apparatus for heating an object to beprocessed by radiation of light (an electromagnetic wave) emitted from alamp such as a halogen lamp, a metal halide lamp, a xenon arc lamp, acarbon arc lamp, a high pressure sodium lamp, or a high pressure mercurylamp. A GRTA apparatus is an apparatus for performing heat treatmentusing a high-temperature gas. As the gas, an inert gas which does notreact with an object to be processed by heat treatment, such as nitrogenor a rare gas such as argon is used.

For example, as the first heat treatment, a GRTA process may beperformed as follows. The object is put in an inert gas atmosphere thathas been heated, heated for several minutes, and taken out of the inertgas atmosphere. The GRTA process enables high-temperature heat treatmentfor a short time. Moreover, the GRTA process can be employed even whenthe temperature exceeds the upper temperature limit of the object. Notethat the inert gas may be switched to a gas including oxygen during theprocess. This is because defect levels in an energy gap due to oxygendeficiency can be reduced by the first heat treatment in an atmospherecontaining oxygen.

Note that as the inert gas atmosphere, an atmosphere that containsnitrogen or a rare gas (e.g., helium, neon, or argon) as its maincomponent and does not contain water, hydrogen, or the like ispreferably used. For example, the purity of nitrogen or a rare gas suchas helium, neon, or argon introduced into a heat treatment apparatus isgreater than or equal to 6N (99.9999%), preferably greater than or equalto 7N (99.99999%) (that is, the concentration of the impurities is lowerthan or equal to 1 ppm, preferably lower than or equal to 0.1 ppm).

In any case, impurities are reduced by the first heat treatment so thatthe i-type (intrinsic) or substantially i-type oxide semiconductor layer144 is obtained. Accordingly, a transistor having extremely excellentcharacteristics can be realized.

The above heat treatment (first heat treatment) can be referred to asdehydration treatment, dehydrogenation treatment, or the like because ofits effect of removing hydrogen, water, and the like. The dehydrationtreatment or the dehydrogenation treatment can be performed afterformation of the oxide semiconductor layer 144, after formation of theinsulating layer 150, after formation of the source electrode 141 a andthe drain electrode 141 b, or the like. Such dehydration treatment ordehydrogenation treatment may be conducted once or plural times.

Next, a conductive film is formed over the gate insulating layer 146 andthe insulating layer 150 a so as to be in contact with the side surfacesof the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a, and the conductive film isselectively etched into the source electrode 141 a and the drainelectrode 141 b (see FIG. 2E).

The thickness of the conductive film to be the source electrode 141 aand the drain electrode 141 b is, for example, greater than or equal to50 nm and less than or equal to 500 nm. The conductive film to be thesource electrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 b can be formed by aPVD method such as a sputtering method or a CVD method such as a plasmaCVD method.

As a material of the conductive film to be the source electrode 141 aand the drain electrode 141 b, an element selected from aluminum,chromium, copper, tantalum, titanium, molybdenum, and tungsten, anitride thereof, an alloy containing any of the above elements as itscomponent, or the like can be used. One or more materials selected frommanganese, magnesium, zirconium, and beryllium may be used.Alternatively, aluminum combined with one or more of elements selectedfrom titanium, tantalum, tungsten, molybdenum, chromium, neodymium, andscandium may be used. Further alternatively, a conductive metal oxidesuch as indium oxide (In₂O₃), tin oxide (SnO₂), zinc oxide (ZnO), analloy of indium oxide and tin oxide (In₂O₃—SnO₂, which is abbreviated toITO in some cases), an alloy of indium oxide and zinc oxide (In₂O₃—ZnO),or any of these metal oxide materials in which silicon or silicon oxideis included can be used.

Note that when a metal material which has the work function larger thanthe electron affinity of the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a is used asa material of the conductive film to be the source electrode 141 a andthe drain electrode 141 b, resistance at the contact interface with theoxide semiconductor layer 144 a can be increased, which is preferable.As such a metal material, gold, platinum, tungsten nitride, an alloy ofindium oxide and tin oxide, or the like can be given, for example.Further, it is preferable to use a material which does not chemicallyreact with the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a by contact as thematerial of the conductive film to be the source electrode 141 a and thedrain electrode 141 b.

The conductive film to be the source electrode 141 a and the drainelectrode 141 b can be etched by wet etching or dry etching.Alternatively, wet etching and dry etching may be used in combination.The etching conditions (e.g., an etching gas, an etchant, etching time,and temperature) are set as appropriate depending on the material sothat the conductive film can be etched into a desired shape. In the casewhere the conductive film to be the source electrode 141 a and the drainelectrode 141 b is etched by dry etching, chlorine (Cl₂), borontrichloride (BCl₃), silicon tetrachloride (SiCl₄), tetrafluoromethane(CF₄), sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃), or thelike can be used as an etching gas. Further, a mixed gas containing aplurality of the above gases may be used. Furthermore, a rare gas(helium (He) or argon (Ar)), oxygen, or the like may be added to theabove gas.

The source electrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 b are thusformed, whereby the side surfaces of the oxide semiconductor layer 144 aare in contact with the source electrode 141 a and the drain electrode141 b. Further, the upper ends of the side surfaces of the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 a align with the lower ends of the side surfacesof the insulating layer 150 a, and the oxide semiconductor layer 144 aoverlaps with the source electrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 bwith the insulating layer 150 a over the oxide semiconductor layer 144 atherebetween. That is, the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a is in contactwith the source electrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 b only atthe side surfaces.

Thus, when the side surfaces of the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a isin contact with the source electrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 band the insulating layer 150 a covers the upper surface of the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 a, a contact area between the source electrode141 a and the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a and a contact area betweenthe drain electrode 141 b and the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a can bereduced. Accordingly, contact resistance at the contact interface can beincreased.

In the transistor 180 described in this embodiment, when contactresistance between the source electrode 141 a and the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 a and contact resistance between the drainelectrode 141 b and the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a are increased,an electric field applied to the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a can berelaxed and a short-channel effect can be suppressed even when thechannel length (L) of the transistor 180 is shortened.

Note that the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a is not necessarily incontact with the source electrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 bonly at the side surfaces. Part of the upper surface of the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 a may be in contact with the source electrode141 a and the drain electrode 141 b as long as the contact area betweenthe source electrode 141 a and the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a andthe contact area between the drain electrode 141 b and the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 a can be reduced.

When the conductive film to be the source electrode 141 a and the drainelectrode 141 b has a stacked structure including a first conductivefilm and a second conductive film, the source electrode 141 a can have astructure in which the second conductive layer 145 a and the firstconductive layer 142 a are stacked in this order and the drain electrode141 b can have a structure in which the second conductive layer 145 band the first conductive layer 142 b are stacked in this order, as inthe transistor 190 illustrated in FIG. 1B. In that case, the thicknessof the first conductive film is greater than or equal to 50 nm and lessthan or equal to 500 nm The thickness of the second conductive film isgreater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to 30 nm,preferably greater than or equal to 5 nm and less than or equal to 15nm.

The first conductive film and the second conductive film can be formedusing a material and by a formation method similar to those of thesource electrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 b. The firstconductive film may have a single-layer structure or a stacked structureof two or more layers. For example, the first conductive film can have asingle-layer structure of a titanium film, a single-layer structure ofan aluminum film containing silicon, a two-layer structure in which atitanium film is stacked over an aluminum film, or a three-layerstructure in which a titanium film, an aluminum film, and a titaniumfilm are stacked in this order.

Note that when a metal material which has the work function larger thanthe electron affinity of the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a is used asa material of the second conductive film, resistance at the contactinterface with the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a can be increased,which is preferable. As such a metal material, gold, platinum, tungstennitride, an alloy of indium oxide and tin oxide, or the like can begiven, for example. Further, when a material which has higher resistancethan the first conductive film is used as a material of the secondconductive film, in the source electrode and the drain electrode of thetransistor 190 to be formed, a region in contact with a channelformation region of the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a becomes to havehigher resistance than other regions, so that an electric field betweenthe source electrode and the drain electrode can be relaxed and ashort-channel effect can be suppressed, which is preferable.Furthermore, since the second conductive layers 145 a and 145 b are incontact with the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a, a material which doesnot chemically react with the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a by contactis preferably used for the second conductive film.

For example, it is preferable to form a molybdenum nitride film as thesecond conductive film and a titanium film as the first conductive film.

The first conductive film and the second conductive film can be etchedin a manner similar to etching of the conductive film to be the sourceelectrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 b.

After formation of the source electrode 141 a and the drain electrode141 b, second heat treatment is desirably performed in an inert gasatmosphere or an oxygen atmosphere. The second heat treatment isperformed at a temperature of higher than or equal to 200° C. and lowerthan or equal to 450° C., preferably higher than or equal to 250° C. andlower than or equal to 350° C. For example, the heat treatment may beperformed in a nitrogen atmosphere at 250° C. for one hour. The secondheat treatment can reduce variations in electric characteristics of thetransistors. Moreover, in the case where the insulating layer 150 acontains oxygen, oxygen is supplied to the oxide semiconductor layer 144a to compensate oxygen deficiency in the oxide semiconductor layer 144a, whereby an i-type (intrinsic) or substantially i-type oxidesemiconductor layer can be formed.

Note that the second heat treatment is performed after the sourceelectrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 b are formed in thisembodiment; however, the timing of the second heat treatment is notparticularly limited to this. For example, the second heat treatment maybe performed after a protective insulating layer is formed over thetransistor 180. Alternatively, the second heat treatment may beperformed following the first heat treatment, the first heat treatmentmay also serve as the second heat treatment, or the second heattreatment may also serve as the first heat treatment.

As described above, at least one of the first heat treatment and thesecond heat treatment is performed, whereby the oxide semiconductorlayer 144 a can be purified in order to include an impurity other thanits main component as little as possible. Thus, the concentration ofhydrogen in the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a can be 5×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³or lower, preferably 5×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³ or lower, more preferably 5×10¹⁷atoms/cm³ or lower. Further, the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a canhave a sufficiently low carrier density (e.g., lower than 1×10¹²/cm³,preferably lower than 1.45×10¹⁰/cm³) as compared to a general siliconwafer having a carrier density of approximately 1×10¹⁴/cm³. Because ofthis, the off-state current is sufficiently reduced. For example, theoff-state current (here, current per micrometer (μm) of channel width)of the transistor 180 at room temperature is 100 zA/μm (1 zA(zeptoampere) is 1×10⁻²¹ A) or less, preferably 10 zA/μm or less.

Through the above steps, the transistor 180 including the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 a is completed.

Thus, when the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a is in contact with thesource electrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 b only at the sidesurfaces and the insulating layer 150 a covers the upper surface of theoxide semiconductor layer 144 a, a contact area between the sourceelectrode 141 a and the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a and a contactarea between the drain electrode 141 b and the oxide semiconductor layer144 a can be reduced. Accordingly, contact resistance at the contactinterface can be increased.

In the transistor 180 described in this embodiment, since the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 a is in contact with the source electrode 141 aand the drain electrode 141 b only at the side surfaces, contactresistance between the source electrode 141 a and the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 a and contact resistance between the drainelectrode 141 b and the oxide semiconductor layer 144 a are increased,whereby an electric field applied to the oxide semiconductor layer 144 acan be relaxed and a short-channel effect such as decrease in thethreshold voltage can be suppressed.

Thus, in one embodiment of the disclosed invention, the problems withminiaturization can be solved. As a result, the size of the transistorcan be sufficiently reduced. When the size of the transistor issufficiently reduced, the size of the semiconductor device is alsoreduced and thus the number of semiconductor devices manufactured fromone substrate is increased. Accordingly, manufacturing cost persemiconductor device is reduced. Since the semiconductor device isminiaturized, a semiconductor device with a size similar to that of theconventional semiconductor device can have improved functions. Further,effects such as high speed operation, reduction in power consumption,and the like can be obtained because of reduction in channel length.That is, miniaturization of a transistor including an oxidesemiconductor is achieved in accordance with one embodiment of thedisclosed invention, and various effects accompanying therewith can alsobe obtained.

The structures, methods, and the like described in this embodiment canbe combined as appropriate with any of the structures, methods, and thelike described in the other embodiments.

Embodiment 2

In this embodiment, a structure and a manufacturing process of asemiconductor device according to one embodiment of the disclosedinvention, which are different from those of Embodiment 1, will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C and FIGS. 4A to 4F.

<Example of Structure of Semiconductor Device>

A transistor 260 illustrated in FIG. 3A is an example of a structure ofa semiconductor device. The transistor 260 includes a gate electrode 248provided over a substrate 200, a gate insulating layer 246 provided overthe gate electrode 248, a source electrode including a second conductivelayer 245 a provided over the gate insulating layer 246 and a firstconductive layer 242 a having lower resistance than the secondconductive layer 245 a, a drain electrode including a second conducivelayer 245 b provided over the gate insulating layer 246 and a firstconductive layer 242 b having lower resistance than the secondconductive layer 245 b, an oxide semiconductor layer 244 which overlapswith the gate electrode 248 and is provided in contact with the secondconductive layers 245 a and 245 b, an insulating layer 243 a providedbetween the first conductive layer 242 a and the oxide semiconductorlayer 244, and an insulating layer 243 b provided between the firstconductive layer 242 b and the oxide semiconductor layer 244.

In the transistor 260 illustrated in FIG. 3A, the second conductivelayer 245 a has a region extending beyond a side surface of the firstconductive layer 242 a in a channel length direction and the secondconductive layer 245 a is in contact with at least a channel formationregion of the oxide semiconductor layer 244. Further, the secondconductive layer 245 b has a region extending beyond a side surface ofthe first conductive layer 242 b in a channel length direction and thesecond conductive layer 245 b is in contact with at least the channelformation region of the oxide semiconductor layer 244.

Further, in the transistor 260 illustrated in FIG. 3A, a sidewallinsulating layer 252 a is provided over the region of the secondconductive layer 245 a, which extends beyond the side surface of thefirst conductive layer 242 a in a channel length direction, and asidewall insulating layer 252 b is provided over the region of thesecond conductive layer 245 b, which extends beyond the side surface ofthe first conductive layer 242 b in a channel length direction. Thesidewall insulating layer 252 a is provided in contact with the oxidesemiconductor layer 244, the second conductive layer 245 a, the firstconductive layer 242 a, and the insulating layer 243 a. Further, thesidewall insulating layer 252 a has a curved shape at least in part of aregion in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer 244. The sidewallinsulating layer 252 b is provided in contact with the oxidesemiconductor layer 244, the second conductive layer 245 b, the firstconductive layer 242 b, and the insulating layer 243 b. Further, thesidewall insulating layer 252 b has a curved shape at least in part of aregion in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer 244.

Note that in the transistor 260 illustrated in FIG. 3A, an example inwhich the second conductive layer 245 a and the first conductive layer242 a are stacked in this order and the second conductive layer 245 band the first conductive layer 242 b are stacked in this order isdescribed; however, one embodiment of the present invention is notlimited to this. For example, as in a transistor 270 illustrated in FIG.3B, a structure in which the first conductive layer 242 a and the secondconductive layer 245 a are stacked in this order and the firstconductive layer 242 b and the second conductive layer 245 b are stackedin this order may be employed. Also in that case, it is preferable thatthe second conductive layer 245 a have a region extending beyond theside surface of the first conducive layer 242 a in a channel lengthdirection and be in contact with at least the channel formation regionof the oxide semiconductor layer 244. Similarly, it is preferable thatthe second conductive layer 245 b have a region extending beyond theside surface of the first conducive layer 242 b in a channel lengthdirection and be in contact with at least the channel formation regionof the oxide semiconductor layer 244. In this case, the insulating layer243 a is provided between the second conductive layer 245 a and theoxide semiconductor layer 244 and the insulating layer 243 b is providedbetween the second conductive layer 245 b and the oxide semiconductorlayer 244.

Alternatively, as in a transistor 280 illustrated in FIG. 3C, each ofthe insulating layers 243 a and 243 b may have a curved shape at leastin part of a region in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer 244.

When the source electrode has a stacked structure of the firstconductive layer 242 a and the second conductive layer 245 a and thedrain electrode has a stacked structure of the first conductive layer242 b and the second conductive layer 245 b, and the second conductivelayers 245 a and 245 b are provided with the regions extending beyondthe side surfaces of the first conductive layers 242 a and 242 b in achannel length direction, voltage is decreased in the regions and thusan electric field applied to the oxide semiconductor layer is relaxed.Accordingly, a short-channel effect can be suppressed. Further, coveragewhen the oxide semiconductor layer 244 is formed over the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode is improved. Furthermore, theinsulating layers have a curved shape at least in part of a region incontact with the oxide semiconductor layer 244, whereby coverage whenthe oxide semiconductor layer 244 is formed is improved. Therefore,defective film formation or the like is prevented.

<Example of Manufacturing Steps of Transistor 260>

Next, an example of manufacturing steps of the transistor 260 will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4F.

First, a conductive film is formed over the substrate 200 and thenselectively etched into the gate electrode 248. Next, the gateinsulating layer 246 is formed so as to cover the gate electrode 248(see FIG. 4A).

Here, a substrate similar to the substrate 100 described in Embodiment 1can be used as the substrate 200. The gate electrode 248 can be formedusing a material and a film formation method similar to those of thegate electrode 148 described in Embodiment 1. The gate insulating layer246 can be formed using a material and a film formation method similarto those of the gate insulating layer 146 described in Embodiment 1.Embodiment 1 can be referred to for the details.

Next, after formation of a second conductive film 245 over the gateinsulating layer 246, a first conductive film is formed over the secondconductive film 245 and an insulating film is formed over the firstconductive film. Next, a mask is formed over the insulating film and theinsulating film and the first conductive film are etched into theinsulating layers 243 a and 243 b and the first conductive layers 242 aand 242 b (see FIG. 4B).

Here, the second conductive film, the first conductive film, and theinsulating film can be formed using materials and film formation methodssimilar to those of the second conductive film, the first conductivefilm, and the insulating film described in Embodiment 1. Embodiment 1can be referred to for the details. Note that the first conductive filmand the second conductive film are preferably formed using materialswhich can ensure etching selectivity. In this embodiment, a molybdenumnitride film is formed as the second conductive film and a titanium filmis formed as the first conductive film, for example.

The insulating layers 243 a and 243 b are formed by etching with a maskformed over the insulating film. Wet etching or dry etching can be usedin etching of the insulating film and wet etching and dry etching can beused in combination. The etching conditions (e.g., an etching gas, anetchant, etching time, and temperature) are set as appropriate dependingon the material so that the insulating film can be etched into a desiredshape. Note that dry etching is preferably used for reduction in achannel length (L) of a transistor. As an etching gas used in dryetching, for example, a gas containing fluorine such as sulfurhexafluoride (SF₆), nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃), trifluoromethane (CHF₃),or octafluorocyclobutane (C₄F₈), a mixed gas of tetrafluoromethane (CF₄)and hydrogen, or the like can be used. Furthermore, a rare gas (e.g.,helium (He), argon (Ar), or xenon (Xe)), carbon monoxide, carbondioxide, or the like may be added to the above gas.

The first conductive film is etched with the use of a mask used foretching of the insulating film; thus, the first conductive layers 242 aand 242 b are formed (see FIG. 4B). When the first conductive film isetched, an etching material (an etchant or an etching gas) which ensuresetching selectivity of the first conductive film with respect to thesecond conductive film is used. Alternatively, the mask may be removedbefore etching of the first conductive film and the first conductivefilm may be etched using the insulating layer 243 a and the insulatinglayer 243 b as masks.

The first conductive film can be etched by wet etching or dry etching.Alternatively, wet etching and dry etching may be used in combination.The etching conditions (e.g., an etching gas, an etchant, etching time,and temperature) are set as appropriate depending on the material sothat the first conductive film can be etched into a desired shape. Notethat dry etching is preferably used for reduction in a channel length(L) of a transistor. In this embodiment, a mixed gas oftetrafluoromethane (CF₄), chlorine (Cl₂), and oxygen (O₂), a mixed gasof tetrafluoromethane (CF₄) and oxygen (O₂), a mixed gas of sulfurhexafluoride (SF₆), chlorine (Cl₂), and oxygen (O₂), or a mixed gas ofsulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) and oxygen (O₂) is used as an etching gas usedfor etching the first conductive film.

The insulating layer 243 a and the insulating layer 243 b are provided,whereby a region (e.g., a contact area) of contact between the sourceelectrode or the drain electrode, and an oxide semiconductor layer to beformed later can be easily controlled. That is, resistance of the sourceelectrode or the drain electrode can be easily controlled and ashort-channel effect can be effectively suppressed.

Next, an insulating film 252 is formed so as to cover the insulatinglayer 243 a, the insulating layer 243 b, and the exposed secondconductive film 245 (see FIG. 4C). The insulating film 252 can be formedby a CVD method or a sputtering method. The insulating film 252preferably contains silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride,aluminum oxide, or the like. The insulating film 252 may have asingle-layer structure or a stacked-layer structure.

Next, the sidewall insulating layers 252 a and 252 b are formed in aregion between the first conductive layer 242 a and the first conductivelayer 242 b over the second conductive film 245 (see FIG. 4D). Thesidewall insulating layers 252 a and 252 b can be formed in aself-aligned manner by performing highly anisotropic etching treatmenton the insulating film 252. Here, dry etching is preferable as highlyanisotropic etching. As an etching gas, a gas containing fluorine suchas trifluoromethane (CHF₃) or octafluorocyclobutane (C₄F₈) can be used,for example. Alternatively, a rare gas such as helium (He) or argon (Ar)may be added to the above gas. Furthermore, it is preferable to employ areactive ion etching (RIE) method in which high-frequency voltage isapplied to a substrate as dry etching.

Next, the second conductive film 245 is selectively etched using thesidewall insulating layers 252 a and 252 b as masks to form the secondconductive layers 245 a and 245 b (see FIG. 4E). In this etching step,the source electrode in which the second conductive layer 245 a and thefirst conductive layer 242 a are stacked and the drain electrode inwhich the second conductive layer 245 b and the first conductive layer242 b are stacked are formed. Note that the second conductive film 245can be etched in a manner similar to that described in Embodiment 1except that the sidewall insulating layers 252 a and 252 b are used asmasks.

The channel length (L) of the transistor 260 is determined in accordancewith a distance between a lower end portion of the second conductivelayer 245 a and a lower end portion of the second conductive layer 245b. Although an appropriate channel length (L) differs depending on theusage of the transistor 260, the channel length (L) can be 10 nm to 1000nm, preferably 20 nm to 400 nm, for example.

In the steps of manufacturing the transistor described in thisembodiment, the second conductive film 245 is etched using the sidewallinsulating layer 252 a and the sidewall insulating layer 252 b.Therefore, in the second conductive layer 245 a, the length (L_(S)) ofthe region extending beyond the side surface of the first conductivelayer 242 a in a channel length direction is substantially equal to thelength of a bottom surface of the sidewall insulating layer 252 a in achannel length direction. Similarly, in the second conductive layer 245b, the length (L_(D)) of the region extending beyond the side surface ofthe first conductive layer 242 b in a channel length direction issubstantially equal to the length of a bottom surface of the sidewallinsulating layer 252 b in a channel length direction. Since the sidewallinsulating layers 252 a and 252 b are formed in a self-aligned manner bythe etching treatment on the insulating film 252, L_(S) or L_(D) isdetermined in accordance with the thickness of the insulating film 252.That is, the channel length (L) of the transistor 260 can be adjustedminutely by controlling the thickness of the insulating film 252. Forexample, the channel length (L) of the transistor 260 can be madesmaller than the minimum processing dimension of a light-exposureapparatus used for light exposure in formation of a mask. Therefore, thethickness of the insulating film 252 may be determined in accordancewith a desired channel length (L) of the transistor 260, resolution of alight-exposure apparatus used for processing the second conductivelayers 245 a and 245 b, or the like.

Next, the oxide semiconductor layer 244 is formed in contact with thesecond conductive layer 245 a and the second conductive layer 245 b soas to cover the insulating layers 243 a and 243 b and the sidewallinsulating layers 252 a and 252 b (see FIG. 4F).

The oxide semiconductor layer 244 can be formed using the material andthe method similar to those of the oxide semiconductor layer 144described in Embodiment 1. Further, the oxide semiconductor layer 244 isdesirably subjected to heat treatment (first heat treatment). Embodiment1 can be referred to for the details. After the first heat treatment isperformed, heat treatment (second heat treatment) is preferablyperformed in an inert gas atmosphere or an oxygen atmosphere. Embodiment1 can be referred to for the details.

Note that in the source electrode of the transistor 260, a side surfaceof the region of the second conductive layer 245 a, which extends beyondthe side surface of the first conductive layer 242 a in a channel lengthdirection, is in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer 244. In thedrain electrode, a side surface of the region of the second conductivelayer 245 b, which extends beyond the side surface of the firstconductive layer 242 b in a channel length direction, is in contact withthe oxide semiconductor layer 244. Thus, the side surfaces of the secondconductive layers 245 a and 245 b with smaller thickness than thethickness of the first conductive layers 242 a and 242 b are in contactwith the oxide semiconductor layer 244, whereby a contact area betweenthe source electrode and the oxide semiconductor layer 244 or betweenthe drain electrode and the oxide semiconductor layer 244 can be reducedand resistance of the source electrode or the drain electrode can beincreased in the vicinity of the oxide semiconductor layer 244.Accordingly, even when the channel length (L) of the transistor 260 isshortened, an electric field between the source electrode and the drainelectrode can be relaxed and a short-channel effect can be suppressed.In addition, when the second conductive layer is formed using a materialhaving higher resistance than the first conductive layer, resistance canbe increased more effectively, which is preferable. Note that thetechnical idea of the disclosed invention is to form a high resistanceregion in a source electrode or a drain electrode; therefore, the sourceelectrode or the drain electrode does not need to be exactly in contactwith the oxide semiconductor layer 244 only at the side surfaces of thesecond conductive layer 245 a or the second conductive layer 245 b.

Thus, the transistor 260 including the oxide semiconductor layer 244 canbe manufactured.

The channel length (L) of the transistor 260 described in thisembodiment can be minutely controlled in accordance with the thicknessof the insulating film 252 for forming the sidewall insulating layers252 a and 252 b. Therefore, the channel length (L) of the transistor 260can be shortened and miniaturization of a semiconductor device can beeasily achieved by setting the thickness of the insulating film 252 asappropriate.

In the transistor 260 described in this embodiment, the sidewallinsulating layer 252 a is provided over the region of the secondconductive layer 245 a, which extends beyond the side surface of thefirst conductive layer 242 a in a channel length direction, and thesidewall insulating layer 252 b is provided over the region of thesecond conductive layer 245 b, which extends beyond the side surface ofthe first conductive layer 242 b in a channel length direction, wherebycoverage with the oxide semiconductor layer 244 and the gate insulatinglayer 246 can be improved and thus defective film formation or the likecan be prevented.

Further, in the transistor 260 described in this embodiment, the secondconductive layer 245 a has the region extending beyond the side surfaceof the first conductive layer 242 a in a channel length direction andthe second conductive layer 245 b has the region extending beyond theside surface of the first conductive layer 242 b in a channel lengthdirection, so that the vicinity of the regions of the source electrodeand the drain electrode, which are in contact with the channel formationregion of the oxide semiconductor layer 244, is made to be a highresistance region; accordingly, an electric field between the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode can be relaxed and a short-channeleffect such as decrease in the threshold voltage can be suppressed.

Thus, in one embodiment of the disclosed invention, the problems withminiaturization can be solved. As a result, the size of the transistorcan be sufficiently reduced. When the size of the transistor issufficiently reduced, the size of the semiconductor device is alsoreduced and thus the number of semiconductor devices manufactured fromone substrate is increased. Accordingly, manufacturing cost persemiconductor device is reduced. Since the semiconductor device isminiaturized, a semiconductor device with a size similar to that of theconventional semiconductor device can have improved functions. Further,effects such as high speed operation, reduction in power consumption,and the like can be obtained because of reduction in channel length.That is, miniaturization of a transistor including an oxidesemiconductor is achieved in accordance with one embodiment of thedisclosed invention, and various effects accompanying therewith can alsobe obtained.

<Examples of Manufacturing Steps of Transistor 270 and Transistor 280>

Next, an example of manufacturing steps of the transistor 270illustrated in FIG. 3B will be described. Here, details of each step aresimilar to the manufacturing steps of the transistor 260. Further, thetransistor 280 illustrated in FIG. 3C is formed in a manner similar tothe manufacturing steps of the transistor 270 except that the insulatinglayers 243 a and 243 b have regions with a curved-shape at least in partof regions in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer 244.

First, the conductive film is formed over the substrate 200, and thenthe conductive film is etched into the gate electrode 248. Next, thegate insulating layer 246 is formed so as to cover the gate electrode248.

Next, the first conductive film is formed over the gate insulating layer246, a mask is formed over the first conductive film, and the firstconductive film is etched into the first conductive layers 242 a and 242b.

Next, the second conductive film is formed over the first conductivelayers 242 a and 242 b and the gate insulating layer 246, and theinsulating film is formed over the second conductive film.

Next, a mask is formed over the insulating film, and the insulating filmis etched using the mask to form the insulating layers 243 a and 243 b.

Here, the structure illustrated in FIG. 3B differs from the structureillustrated in FIG. 3A in that the first conductive layers 242 a and 242b are formed and then the second conductive layers 245 a and 245 b areformed. When the second conducive film is formed and etched afterformation of the first conductive layers 242 a and 242 b, etchingselectivity of the first conductive film with respect to the secondconductive film does not need to be secured, leading to wider selectionof materials of the first conductive film and the second conductivefilm.

Next, the second conductive film is etched using the mask used forforming the insulating layers 243 a and 243 b to form the secondconductive layers 245 a and 245 b. The insulating film and the secondconductive film can be etched successively using the same etching gas.Alternatively, the mask is removed and then the second conductive filmmay be etched using the insulating layers 243 a and 243 b as masks.

Next, the oxide semiconductor film is formed over the insulating layers243 a and 243 b and the gate insulating layer 246 by a sputteringmethod. Then, a mask is formed over the oxide semiconductor film and theoxide semiconductor film is etched using the mask to form the oxidesemiconductor layer 244.

Thus, the transistor 270 including the oxide semiconductor layer 244 canbe manufactured.

Note that when reverse sputtering with the use of an Ar gas is performedon the insulating layers 243 a and 243 b after formation of the secondconductive layers 245 a and 245 b, the insulating layers 243 a and 243 bcan have curved shapes at least in part of regions in contact with theoxide semiconductor layer 244 to be formed later. When the insulatinglayers 243 a and 243 b have curved shapes at least in part of theregions in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer 244, coverage withthe oxide semiconductor layer 244 can be improved and disconnection canbe prevented.

Thus, the transistor 280 illustrated in FIG. 3C can be manufactured.

The structures, methods, and the like described in this embodiment canbe combined as appropriate with any of the structures, methods, and thelike described in the other embodiments.

Embodiment 3

In this embodiment, a structure and a manufacturing process of asemiconductor device which are different from those of the semiconductordevice described in the above embodiments will be described withreference to FIGS. 5A and 5B and FIGS. 6A to 6E.

<Example of Structure of Semiconductor Device>

Each of FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrates a cross-sectional structure of atransistor as an example of a semiconductor device. In FIGS. 5A and 5B,top gate transistors are illustrated as the transistors of oneembodiment of the disclosed invention.

A transistor 380 illustrated in FIG. 5A includes, over a substrate 300,an oxide semiconductor layer 344 a, an insulating layer 350 a providedon and in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer 344 a, a sourceelectrode 341 a and a drain electrode 341 b provided over the insulatinglayer 350 a, a gate insulating layer 346 provided over the sourceelectrode 341 a and the drain electrode 341 b, and a gate electrode 348provided over the gate insulating layer 346.

In the transistor 380 illustrated in FIG. 5A, side surfaces of the oxidesemiconductor layer 344 a are in contact with the source electrode 341 aand the drain electrode 341 b. Further, upper ends of the side surfacesof the oxide semiconductor layer 344 a align with lower ends of sidesurfaces of the insulating layer 350 a and the oxide semiconductor layer344 a overlaps with the source electrode 341 a and the drain electrode341 b with the insulating layer 350 a over the oxide semiconductor layer344 a therebetween. That is, the oxide semiconductor layer 344 a is incontact with the source electrode 341 a and the drain electrode 341 bonly at the side surfaces.

Alternatively, as in a transistor 390 illustrated in FIG. 5B, astructure in which the source electrode 341 a has a structure in which asecond conductive layer 345 a and a first conductive layer 342 a arestacked in this order and the drain electrode 341 b has a structure inwhich a second conductive layer 345 b and a first conductive layer 342 bare stacked in this order may be employed.

<Example of Manufacturing Steps of Transistor>

An example of steps of manufacturing the transistor illustrated in FIG.5A will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6E below.

First, an oxide semiconductor layer 344 is formed over the substrate 300having an insulating surface by a sputtering method and an insulatinglayer 350 is formed over the oxide semiconductor layer 344 (see FIG.6A).

Here, a substrate similar to the substrate 100 described in Embodiment 1can be used as the substrate 300. The oxide semiconductor layer 344 canbe formed using a material and a film formation method similar to thoseof the oxide semiconductor layer 144 described in Embodiment 1. Theinsulating layer 350 can be formed using a material and a film formationmethod similar to those of the insulating layer 150 described inEmbodiment 1. Embodiment 1 can be referred to for the details.

Next, the oxide semiconductor layer 344 and the insulating layer 350 areselectively etched by a method such as etching using a mask or the liketo form the island-shaped oxide semiconductor layer 344 a and theisland-shaped insulating layer 350 a (see FIG. 6B).

The oxide semiconductor layer 344 a and the insulating layer 350 a canbe formed by a method similar to that for etching to form the oxidesemiconductor layer 144 a and the insulating layer 150 a described inEmbodiment 1. Embodiment 1 can be referred to for the details.

Next, over the substrate 300 and the insulating layer 350 a, aconductive film is formed so as to be in contact with side surfaces ofthe oxide semiconductor layer 344 a and then selectively etched into thesource electrode 341 a and the drain electrode 341 b (see FIG. 6C).

The source electrode 341 a and the drain electrode 341 b can be formedusing a material and a film formation method similar to those of thesource electrode 141 a and the drain electrode 141 b described inEmbodiment 1. Embodiment 1 can be referred to for the details.

Here, the distance between a side surface of the source electrode 341 aand the side surface of the oxide semiconductor layer 344 a on thesource electrode 341 a side in a channel length direction is preferablysmaller than or equal to 0.1 μm. Similarly, the distance between a sidesurface of the drain electrode 341 b and the side surface of the oxidesemiconductor layer 344 a on the drain electrode 341 b side in a channellength direction is preferably smaller than or equal to 0.1 μm. Withsuch a structure, an electric field of the gate electrode 348 can bemade to sufficiently act on the oxide semiconductor layer 344 a.

Further, as described in Embodiment 1, when the conductive film to bethe source electrode 341 a and the drain electrode 341 b has a structurein which a first conductive film and a second conductive film aresequentially stacked, the source electrode 341 a may have a structure inwhich the second conductive layer 345 a and the first conductive layer342 a are stacked in this order and the drain electrode 341 b may have astructure in which the second conductive layer 345 b and the firstconductive layer 342 b are stacked in this order as in a transistor 390illustrated in FIG. 5B. The first conductive layers 342 a and 342 b andthe second conductive layers 345 a and 345 b can be formed usingmaterials and film deposition methods similar to those of the firstconductive layers 142 a and 142 b and the second conductive layers 145 aand 145 b described in Embodiment 1. Therefore, Embodiment 1 can bereferred to for the details.

Next, the gate insulating layer 346 is formed so as to cover theinsulating layer 350 a, the source electrode 341 a, and the drainelectrode 341 b (see FIG. 6D).

The gate insulating layer 346 can be formed using a material and a filmformation method similar to those of the gate insulating layer 146described in Embodiment 1. Therefore, Embodiment 1 can be referred tofor the details.

Next, a conductive film is formed over the gate insulating layer 346 andthen selectively etched into the gate electrode 348 (see FIG. 6E). Here,the gate electrode 348 is formed in a region overlapping with theisland-shaped oxide semiconductor layer 344 a.

The gate electrode 348 can be formed using a material and a filmformation method similar to those of the gate electrode 148 described inEmbodiment 1. Therefore, Embodiment 1 can be referred to for thedetails.

Through the above steps, the transistor 380 including the oxidesemiconductor layer 344 a is completed.

Thus, the side surfaces of the oxide semiconductor layer 344 a are incontact with the source electrode 341 a and the drain electrode 341 b,whereby a contact area between the source electrode 341 a and the oxidesemiconductor layer 344 a and a contact area between the drain electrode341 b and the oxide semiconductor layer 344 a can be reduced.Accordingly, contact resistance at the contact interface can beincreased.

In the transistor 380 described in this embodiment, the oxidesemiconductor layer 344 a is in contact with the source electrode 341 aand the drain electrode 341 b only at the side surfaces, and contactresistance between the source electrode 341 a and the oxidesemiconductor layer 344 a and contact resistance between the drainelectrode 341 b and the oxide semiconductor layer 344 a are increased,whereby an electric field applied to the oxide semiconductor layer 344 acan be relaxed and a short-channel effect such as decrease in thethreshold voltage can be suppressed.

Thus, in one embodiment of the disclosed invention, the problems withminiaturization can be solved. As a result, the size of the transistorcan be sufficiently reduced. When the size of the transistor issufficiently reduced, the size of the semiconductor device is alsoreduced and thus the number of semiconductor devices manufactured fromone substrate is increased. Accordingly, manufacturing cost persemiconductor device is reduced. Since the semiconductor device isminiaturized, a semiconductor device with a size similar to that of theconventional semiconductor device can have improved functions. Further,effects such as high speed operation, reduction in power consumption,and the like can be obtained because of reduction in channel length.That is, miniaturization of a transistor including an oxidesemiconductor is achieved in accordance with one embodiment of thedisclosed invention, and various effects accompanying therewith can alsobe obtained.

The structures, methods, and the like described in this embodiment canbe combined as appropriate with any of the structures, methods, and thelike described in the other embodiments.

Embodiment 4

In this embodiment, a structure and a manufacturing process of asemiconductor device according to one embodiment of the disclosedinvention, which are different from the above embodiments, will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 7 and FIGS. 8A to 8D.

<Example of Structure of Semiconductor Device>

A transistor 460 illustrated in FIG. 7 is an example of a structure of asemiconductor device. The transistor 460 includes an oxide semiconductorlayer 444 a provided over a substrate 400, a gate insulating layer 446 aprovided over the oxide semiconductor layer 444 a, a gate electrode 448provided over the gate insulating layer 446 a, and a source electrode442 a and a drain electrode 442 b provided in contact with the oxidesemiconductor layer 444 a. Further, an interlayer insulating layer 453is provided so as to cover the transistor 460.

In the transistor 460 illustrated in FIG. 7, an insulating layer 450 isprovided in contact with an upper surface of the gate electrode 448. Inaddition, sidewall insulating layers 452 a and 452 b are provided incontact with side faces of the gate electrode 448.

In the transistor 460 illustrated in FIG. 7, the oxide semiconductorlayer 444 a may be formed so that the length of the oxide semiconductorlayer 444 a (length in a direction for carrier flow in a channelformation region) is longer than the length of the gate insulating layer446 a or so that the length of the oxide semiconductor layer 444 a issubstantially equal to the length of the gate insulating layer 446 a.

<Example of Manufacturing Steps of Semiconductor Device>

Next, an example of manufacturing steps of the transistor 460illustrated in FIG. 7 will be described. Details of the steps are thesame as those of the other embodiments.

First, an oxide semiconductor film 444, an insulating film 446, aconductive film, and an insulating film are formed over the substrate400 in this order. Then, a mask is formed over the topmost insulatingfilm and the conductive film and the topmost insulating film areselectively etched using the mask to form the gate electrode 448 and theinsulating layer 450 (see FIG. 8A). The above embodiments can bereferred to for the details. Note that the insulating film 446 and theinsulating layer 450 are preferably formed using materials havingetching selectivity.

Next, an insulating layer is formed so as to cover at least the gateelectrode 448 and the insulating layer 450. The insulating layer issubjected to highly anisotropic etching treatment to form the sidewallinsulating layers 452 a and 452 b (see FIG. 8B). Note that the sidewallinsulating layers 452 a and 452 b are preferably formed using a materialhaving etching selectivity with respect to a material of the insulatingfilm 446. The above embodiments can be referred to for the details.

Next, the oxide semiconductor film 444 and the insulating film 446 areselectively etched using the insulating layer 450 and the sidewallinsulating layers 452 a and 452 b as masks to form the oxidesemiconductor layer 444 a and the gate insulating layer 446 a (see FIG.8C). Here, the insulating film 446 and the oxide semiconductor film 444may be collectively etched at once, or the insulating film 446 and theoxide semiconductor film 444 may be individually etched. Note that thesidewall insulating layers 452 a and 452 b may be recessed depending onconditions of the etching treatment. In that case, the source electrode442 a and the drain electrode 442 b to be formed later are in contactwith part of an upper surface of the oxide semiconductor layer 444 a.The above embodiments can be referred to for the details.

Next, the interlayer insulating layer 453 is formed over the substrate400 so as to cover the oxide semiconductor layer 444 a, the gateinsulating layer 446 a, the insulating layer 450, the sidewallinsulating layers 452 a and 452 b, and the like. Then, openings reachingthe oxide semiconductor layer 444 a are formed in the interlayerinsulating layer 453, and then the source electrode 442 a and the drainelectrode 442 b which are connected to the oxide semiconductor layer 444a are formed (see FIG. 8D). Note that the interlayer insulating layer453 is preferably formed to have a flat surface by a CMP treatment orthe like. When the interlayer insulating layer 453 has a flat surface,the source electrode 442 a and the drain electrode 442 b to be formedlater are favorably formed. Note that here, the openings are formed inthe interlayer insulating layer 453 and then the source electrode 442 aand the drain electrode 442 b are formed; however, the source electrode442 a and the drain electrode 442 b may be formed before the interlayerinsulating layer 453 is formed. The above embodiments can be referred tofor the details of the interlayer insulating layer, the sourceelectrode, the drain electrode, and the like.

Through the above steps, the transistor 460 including the oxidesemiconductor layer 444 a can be manufactured.

With such a structure described in this embodiment, a region (e.g., acontact area) of contact between source electrode or the drainelectrode, and the oxide semiconductor layer can be easily controlled.That is, resistance of the source electrode or the drain electrode canbe easily controlled and a short-channel effect can be effectivelysuppressed.

Thus, in one embodiment of the disclosed invention, the problems withminiaturization can be solved. As a result, the size of the transistorcan be sufficiently reduced. When the size of the transistor issufficiently reduced, the size of the semiconductor device is alsoreduced and thus the number of semiconductor devices manufactured fromone substrate is increased. Accordingly, manufacturing cost persemiconductor device is reduced. Since the semiconductor device isminiaturized, a semiconductor device with a size similar to that of theconventional semiconductor device can have improved functions. Further,effects such as high speed operation, reduction in power consumption,and the like can be obtained because of reduction in channel length.That is, miniaturization of a transistor including an oxidesemiconductor is achieved in accordance with one embodiment of thedisclosed invention, and various effects accompanying therewith can alsobe obtained.

The structures, methods, and the like described in this embodiment canbe combined as appropriate with any of the structures, methods, and thelike described in the other embodiments.

Embodiment 5

In this embodiment, application examples of a semiconductor deviceaccording to one embodiment of the disclosed invention will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 9A1, 9A2, and 9B. Here, an example of a memorydevice will be described. Note that in a circuit diagram, “OS” iswritten beside a transistor in order to indicate that the transistorincludes an oxide semiconductor.

In the semiconductor device illustrated in FIG. 9A1, a first wiring (a1st Line) is electrically connected to a source electrode of atransistor 500, and a second wiring (a 2nd Line) is electricallyconnected to a drain electrode of the transistor 500. A third wiring (a3rd Line) is electrically connected to one of a source electrode and adrain electrode of a transistor 510, and a fourth wiring (a 4th Line) iselectrically connected to a gate electrode of the transistor 510. A gateelectrode of the transistor 500 and the other of the source electrodeand the drain electrode of the transistor 510 are electrically connectedto one of electrodes of the capacitor 520, and a fifth wiring (a 5thLine) is electrically connected to the other of the electrodes of thecapacitor 520.

Here, a transistor including the above oxide semiconductor is used asthe transistor 510. A transistor including an oxide semiconductor has acharacteristic of significantly small off-state current. For thatreason, a potential of the gate electrode of the transistor 500 can beretained for an extremely long time by turning off the transistor 510.Provision of the capacitor 520 facilitates holding of charge given tothe gate electrode of the transistor 500 and reading of stored data.

Note that there is no particular limitation on the transistor 500. Interms of increasing the speed of reading data, it is preferable to use,for example, a transistor with high switching rate such as a transistorincluding single crystal silicon.

Alternatively, a structure in which the capacitor 520 is not providedcan be employed as illustrated in FIG. 9B.

The semiconductor device illustrated in FIG. 9A1 utilizes acharacteristic in which the potential of the gate electrode of thetransistor 500 can be held, thereby writing, storing, and reading dataas follows.

First, writing and storing of data will be described. First, a potentialof the fourth wiring is set to a potential at which the transistor 510is turned on, so that the transistor 510 is turned on. Accordingly, apotential of the third wiring is supplied to the gate electrode of thetransistor 500 and the capacitor 520. That is, predetermined charge isgiven to the gate electrode of the transistor 500 (writing). Here, oneof charges for supply of two different potentials (hereinafter, a chargefor supply of a low potential is referred to as a charge Q_(L) and acharge for supply of a high potential is referred to as a charge Q_(H))is given to the gate electrode of the transistor 500. Note that chargesgiving three or more different potentials may be applied to improve astorage capacitor. After that, the potential of the fourth wiring is setto a potential at which the transistor 510 is turned off, so that thetransistor 510 is turned off. Thus, the charge given to the gateelectrode of the transistor 500 is held (holding).

Since the off-state current of the transistor 510 is significantlysmall, the charge of the gate electrode of the transistor 500 is heldfor a long time.

Next, reading of data will be described. By supplying an appropriatepotential (reading potential) to the fifth wiring while a predeterminedpotential (constant potential) is supplied to the first wiring, thepotential of the second wiring varies depending on the amount of chargeheld in the gate electrode of the transistor 500. This is because ingeneral, when the transistor 500 is an n-channel transistor, an apparentthreshold voltage V_(th) _(—) _(H) in the case where Q_(H) is given tothe gate electrode of the transistor 500 is lower than an apparentthreshold voltage V_(th) _(—) _(L) in the case where Q_(L) is given tothe gate electrode of the transistor 500. Here, an apparent thresholdvoltage refers to the potential of the fifth wiring, which is needed toturn on the transistor 500. Thus, the potential of the fifth wiring isset to a potential V₀ intermediate between V_(th) _(—) _(H) and V_(th)_(—) _(L), whereby charge given to the gate electrode of the transistor500 can be determined. For example, in the case where Q_(H) is given inwriting, when the potential of the fifth wiring is set to V₀ (>V_(th)_(—) _(H)), the transistor 500 is turned on. In the case where Q_(L) isgiven in writing, even when the potential of the fifth wiring is set toV₀ (<V_(th) _(—) _(L)), the transistor 500 remains in an off state.Therefore, the stored data can be read by the potential of the secondwiring.

Note that in the case where memory cells are arrayed to be used, onlydata of desired memory cells is needed to be read. Thus, in order thatdata of a predetermined memory cell is read and data of the other memorycells is not read, in the case where the transistors 500 are connectedin parallel between the memory cells, a potential which allows thetransistor 500 to be turned off regardless of a state of the gateelectrode, that is, a potential lower than V_(th) _(—) _(H) may be givento fifth lines of the memory cells whose data is not to be read. In thecase where the transistors 500 are connected in series between thememory cells, a potential which allows the transistor 500 to be turnedon regardless of the state of the gate electrode, that is, potentialhigher than V_(th) _(—) _(L) may be given to the fifth lines.

Next, rewriting of data will be described. Rewriting of data isperformed in a manner similar to that of the writing and storing ofdata. That is, the potential of the fourth wiring is set to a potentialat which the transistor 510 is turned on, so that the transistor 510 isturned on. Accordingly, the potential of the third wiring (potentialrelated to new data) is given to the gate electrode of the transistor500 and the capacitor 520. After that, the potential of the fourthwiring is set to a potential at which the transistor 510 is turned off,whereby the transistor 510 is turned off. Accordingly, the chargerelated to new data is given to the gate electrode of the transistor500.

In the semiconductor device according to the disclosed invention, datacan be directly rewritten by another writing of data as described above.Therefore, extracting of charge from a floating gate with the use ofhigh voltage needed in a flash memory or the like is not necessary andthus, reduction in operation speed, which is attributed to erasingoperation, can be suppressed. In other words, high-speed operation ofthe semiconductor device can be realized.

Note that the source electrode or the drain electrode of the transistor510 is electrically connected to the gate electrode of the transistor500, thereby having an effect similar to that of a floating gate of afloating gate transistor used for a nonvolatile memory element.Therefore, a portion in the drawing where the source electrode or thedrain electrode of the transistor 510 is electrically connected to thegate electrode of the transistor 500 is called a floating gate portionFG in some cases. When the transistor 510 is off, the floating gateportion FG can be regarded as being embedded in an insulator and thuscharge is held in the floating gate portion FG. The amount of off-statecurrent of the transistor 510 including an oxide semiconductor issmaller than or equal to one hundred thousandth of the amount ofoff-state current of a transistor including a silicon semiconductor orthe like; thus, lost of the charge accumulated in the floating gateportion FG due to leakage current of the transistor 510 is negligible.That is, with the transistor 510 including an oxide semiconductor, anonvolatile memory device which can store data even when power is notsupplied can be realized.

For example, when the off-state current of the transistor 510 is 10 zA(1 zA (zeptoampere) is 1×10⁻²¹ A) or less at room temperature and thecapacitance value of the capacitor 520 is approximately 10 fF, data canbe stored for 10⁴ seconds or longer. It is needless to say that thestorage time depends on transistor characteristics and the capacitancevalue.

Further, in that case, the problem of deterioration of a gate insulatingfilm (tunnel insulating film), which is pointed out in a conventionalfloating gate transistor, does not exist. That is, the deterioration ofa gate insulating film due to injection of an electron into a floatinggate, which has been traditionally regarded as a problem, can be solved.This means that there is no limit on the number of times of writing inprinciple. Furthermore, high voltage needed for writing or erasing in aconventional floating gate transistor is not necessary.

The components such as transistors in the semiconductor deviceillustrated in FIG. 9A1 can be regarded as including a resistor and acapacitor as shown in FIG. 9A2. That is, in FIG. 9A2, the transistor 500and the capacitor 520 are each regarded as including a resistor and acapacitor. R1 and C1 denote the resistance value and the capacitancevalue of the capacitor 520, respectively. The resistance value R1corresponds to the resistance value which depends on an insulating layerincluded in the capacitor 520. R2 and C2 denote the resistance value andthe capacitance value of the transistor 500, respectively. Theresistance value R2 corresponds to the resistance value which depends ona gate insulating layer at the time when the transistor 500 is on. Thecapacitance value C2 corresponds to the capacitance value of so-calledgate capacitance (capacitance formed between the gate electrode and eachof the source electrode and the drain electrode and capacitance formedbetween the gate electrode and the channel formation region).

When the resistance value (also referred to as effective resistance)between the source electrode and the drain electrode in the case wherethe transistor 510 is in an off state is ROS, a charge holding period(also referred to as a data storing period) is determined mainly byoff-state current of the transistor 510 under the conditions that gateleakage of the transistor 510 is sufficiently small and that ROS is R1or smaller and ROS is R2 or smaller.

On the other hand, when the conditions are not met, it is difficult tosufficiently secure the holding period even if the off-state current ofthe transistor 510 is small enough. This is because a leakage currentother than the off-state current of the transistor 510 (e.g., a leakagecurrent generated between the source electrode and the gate electrode)is large. Thus, it can be said that the semiconductor device disclosedin this embodiment desirably satisfies the above relation.

It is desirable that C1 be larger than or equal to C2. When C1 islarger, the potential of the fifth wiring can be efficiently applied tothe floating gate portion FG in controlling a potential of the floatinggate portion FG by the fifth wiring; thus, a potential differencebetween potentials applied to the fifth wiring (e.g., a readingpotential and a non-reading potential) can be suppressed.

When the above relation is satisfied, a more preferable semiconductordevice can be realized. Note that R1 and R2 are controlled by the gateinsulating layer of the transistor 500 and the insulating layer of thecapacitor 520. This is also applied to C1 and C2. Therefore, thematerial, the thickness, and the like of the gate insulating layer aredesirably set as appropriate to satisfy the above relation.

In the semiconductor device described in this embodiment, the floatinggate portion FG has an effect similar to a floating gate of a floatinggate transistor of a flash memory or the like, but the floating gateportion FG of this embodiment has a feature which is essentiallydifferent from that of the floating gate of the flash memory or thelike. In the case of a flash memory, since voltage applied to a controlgate is high, it is necessary to keep a proper distance between cells inorder to prevent the potential from affecting a floating gate of theadjacent cell. This is one of inhibiting factors for high integration ofthe semiconductor device. The factor is attributed to a basic principleof a flash memory, in which a tunneling current flows in applying a highelectrical field.

Further, because of the above principle of a flash memory, deteriorationof an insulating film proceeds and thus another problem of the limit onthe number of times of rewriting (approximately 10⁴ to 10⁵ times)occurs.

The semiconductor device according to the disclosed invention isoperated by switching of a transistor including an oxide semiconductorand does not use the above-described principle of charge injection by atunneling current. That is, a high electrical field for charge injectionis not necessary unlike a flash memory. Accordingly, it is not necessaryto consider an influence of a high electrical field from a control gateon an adjacent cell, which facilitates high integration.

Further, since principle of charge injection by a tunneling current isnot employed, there is no cause for deterioration of a memory cell. Inother words, the semiconductor device according to the disclosedinvention has higher durability and reliability than a flash memory.

In addition, it is also advantageous that a high electrical field isunnecessary and a large peripheral circuit (such as a booster circuit)is unnecessary as compared to a flash memory.

In the case where the dielectric constant ∈r1 of the insulating layerincluded in the capacitor 520 is different from the dielectric constant∈r2 of the insulating layer forming a gate capacitor of the transistor500, it is easy to satisfy that C1 is greater than or equal to C2 whilethe relation 2·S2 is greater than or equal to S1 (desirably, S2 isgreater than or equal to S1) where S1 is the area of the insulatinglayer included in the capacitor 520 and S2 is the area of the insulatinglayer forming the gate capacitor of the transistor 500. Specifically,for example, a film formed of a high dielectric constant (high-k)material such as hafnium oxide or a stack of a film formed of a highdielectric constant (high-k) material such as hafnium oxide and a filmformed of an oxide semiconductor is used for the insulating layerincluded in the capacitor 520 so that ∈r1 can be set to 10 or more,preferably 15 or more, and silicon oxide is used for the insulatinglayer forming the gate capacitor of the transistor 500 so that ∈r2 canbe set to 3 to 4.

Combination of such structures enables higher integration of thesemiconductor device according to the disclosed invention.

Note that an n-channel transistor in which electrons are majoritycarriers is used in the above description; it is needless to say that ap-channel transistor in which holes are majority carriers can be usedinstead of the n-channel transistor.

As described above, a semiconductor device according to one embodimentof the disclosed invention has a nonvolatile memory cell including awriting transistor where a leakage current (off-state current) between asource and a drain is small in an off state, a reading transistor formedof a semiconductor material different from that of the writingtransistor, and a capacitor.

The off-state current of the writing transistor is 100 zA (1×10⁻¹⁹ A) orless, preferably 10 zA (1×10⁻²⁰ A) or less, more preferably 1 zA(1×10⁻²¹ A) or less at ambient temperature (e.g., 25° C.). In the caseof general silicon semiconductor, it is difficult to achieve smalloff-state current as described above. However, in a transistor obtainedby processing an oxide semiconductor under an appropriate condition,small off-state current can be achieved. Therefore, a transistorincluding an oxide semiconductor is preferably used as the writingtransistor.

In addition, a transistor including an oxide semiconductor has a smallsubthreshold swing (S value), so that the switching rate can besufficiently high even if mobility is comparatively low. Therefore, byusing the transistor as the writing transistor, rising of a writingpulse given to the floating gate portion FG can be very sharp. Further,off-state current is small and thus, the amount of charge held in thefloating gate portion FG can be reduced. That is, by using a transistorincluding an oxide semiconductor as the writing transistor, rewriting ofdata can be performed at high speed.

As for the reading transistor, although there is no limitation onoff-state current, it is preferable to use a transistor which operatesat high speed in order to increase the reading rate. For example, atransistor with a switching rate of 1 nanosecond or lower is preferablyused as the reading transistor.

Data is written to the memory cell by turning on the writing transistorso that a potential is supplied to the floating gate portion FG whereone of a source electrode and a drain electrode of the writingtransistor, one of electrodes of the capacitor, and a gate electrode ofthe reading transistor are electrically connected, and then turning offthe writing transistor so that the predetermined amount of charge isheld in the floating gate portion FG. Here, the off-state current of thewriting transistor is very small; thus, the charge supplied to thefloating gate portion FG is held for a long time. When an off-statecurrent is, for example, substantially 0, refresh operation needed for aconventional DRAM can be unnecessary or the frequency of refreshoperation can be significantly low (for example, about once a month or ayear). Accordingly, power consumption of a semiconductor device can bereduced sufficiently.

Further, data can be rewritten directly by overwriting of new data tothe memory cell. Erasing operation, necessary in a flash memory and thelike, is thus not needed; therefore, reduction in operation speed due toerasing operation can be suppressed. In other words, high-speedoperation of the semiconductor device can be realized. Moreover, a highvoltage necessary for a conventional floating gate transistor to writeand erase data is unnecessary; thus, power consumption of thesemiconductor device can be further reduced. The highest voltage appliedto the memory cell according to this embodiment (the difference betweenthe highest potential and the lowest potential applied to respectiveterminals of the memory cell at the same time) can be 5 V or lower,preferably 3 V or lower, in each memory cell in the case where data oftwo stages (one bit) is written.

The memory cell provided in the semiconductor device according to thedisclosed invention may include at least the writing transistor, thereading transistor, and the capacitor. Further, the memory cell canoperate even when the area of the capacitor is small. Accordingly, thearea of each memory cell can be sufficiently small as compared to anSRAM which requires six transistors in each memory cell, for example;thus, the memory cells can be arranged in a semiconductor device at highdensity.

In a conventional floating gate transistor, charge travels in a gateinsulating film (tunnel insulating film) during writing operation, sothat deterioration of the gate insulating film (tunnel insulating film)cannot be avoided. In contrast, in the memory cell according to oneembodiment of the present invention, data is written by switchingoperation of a writing transistor; therefore, the deterioration of agate insulating film, which has been traditionally recognized as aproblem, can be avoided. This means that there is no limit on the numberof times of writing in principle and writing durability is very high.For example, in the memory cell according to one embodiment of thepresent invention, the current-voltage characteristic is not degradedeven after data is written 1×10⁹ or more times (one billion or moretimes).

Further, in the case of using a transistor including an oxidesemiconductor as the writing transistor of the memory cell, thecurrent-voltage characteristic of the memory cell is not degraded evenat, for example, a high temperature of 150° C. because an oxidesemiconductor generally has a wide energy gap (e.g., 3.0 to 3.5 eV inthe case of an In—Ga—Zn—O-based oxide semiconductor) and extremely fewthermally excited carriers.

As a result of intensive research, the present inventors have succeededin finding for the first time that a transistor including an oxidesemiconductor has excellent characteristics in that the characteristicsdo not deteriorate even at a high temperature of 150° C. and off-statecurrent is smaller than or equal to 100 zA, which is extremely small.According to one embodiment of the disclosed invention, a semiconductordevice having a novel feature by using a transistor having suchexcellent characteristics as the writing transistor of the memory cellis provided.

According to one embodiment of the disclosed invention, in a transistorincluding an oxide semiconductor, defects are prevented, favorablecharacteristics are maintained, and miniaturization can be achieved.With the use of such a transistor, the excellent memory device asdescribed above can be highly integrated.

The structures, methods, and the like described in this embodiment canbe combined as appropriate with any of the structures, methods, and thelike described in the other embodiments.

Embodiment 6

In this embodiment, application examples of a semiconductor deviceaccording to one embodiment of the disclosed invention will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B and FIGS. 11A to 11C.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are circuit diagrams of semiconductor devices eachincluding a plurality of semiconductor devices (hereinafter alsoreferred to as memory cells 550) illustrated in FIG. 9A1. FIG. 10A is acircuit diagram of a so-called NAND semiconductor device in which thememory cells 550 are connected in series, and FIG. 10B is a circuitdiagram of a so-called NOR semiconductor device in which the memorycells 550 are connected in parallel.

The semiconductor device in FIG. 10A includes a source line SL, a bitline BL, a first signal line S1, m second signal lines S2, m word linesWL, and a plurality of memory cells 550(1, 1) to 550(m, 1) which isarranged in a matrix of m (rows) (in a vertical direction)×1 (a column)(in a horizontal direction). Note that in FIG. 10A, one source line SLand one bit line BL are provided in the semiconductor device; however,one embodiment of the disclosed invention is not limited to this. Thesemiconductor device may include n source lines SL and n bit lines BL sothat a memory cell array where the memory cells are arranged in a matrixof m (rows) (in a vertical direction)×n (columns) (in a horizontaldirection) is formed.

In each of the memory cells 550, a gate electrode of the transistor 500,one of a source electrode and a drain electrode of the transistor 510,and one of electrodes of the capacitor 520 are electrically connected toeach another. The first signal line S1 and the other of the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode of the transistor 510 are electricallyconnected to each other, and the second signal line S2 and a gateelectrode of the transistor 510 are electrically connected to eachother. The word line WL and the other of the electrodes of the capacitor520 are electrically connected to each other.

Further, the source electrode of the transistor 500 included in thememory cell 550 is electrically connected to the drain electrode of thetransistor 500 in the adjacent memory cell 550. The drain electrode ofthe transistor 500 included in the memory cell 550 is electricallyconnected to the source electrode of the transistor 500 in the adjacentmemory cell 550. Note that the drain electrode of the transistor 500included in the memory cell 550 of the plurality of memory cellsconnected in series, which is provided at one of ends, is electricallyconnected to the bit line. In addition, the source electrode of thetransistor 500 included in the memory cell 550 of the plurality ofmemory cells connected in series, which is provided at the other end, iselectrically connected to the source line.

In the semiconductor device in FIG. 10A, writing operation and readingoperation are performed in each row. The writing operation is performedas follows. A potential at which the transistor 510 is turned on issupplied to the second signal line S2 in a row where writing isperformed, so that the transistor 510 in the row where writing isperformed is turned on. Accordingly, a potential of the first signalline S1 is supplied to the gate electrode of the transistor 500 of thespecified row, so that predetermined charge is given to the gateelectrode. Thus, data can be written to the memory cell of the specifiedrow.

Further, the reading operation is performed as follows. First, apotential at which the transistor 500 is turned on regardless of chargegiven to the gate electrode of the transistor 500 is supplied to theword lines WL of the rows other than the row where reading is to beperformed, so that the transistors 500 of the rows other than the rowwhere reading is to be performed are turned on. Then, a potential(reading potential) at which an on state or an off state of thetransistor 500 is determined depending on charge in the gate electrodeof the transistor 500 is supplied to the word line WL of the row wherereading is to be performed. After that, a constant potential is suppliedto the source line SL so that a reading circuit (not illustrated)connected to the bit line BL is operated. Here, the plurality oftransistors 500 between the source line SL and the bit line BL are onexcept the transistors 500 of the row where reading is to be performed;therefore, conductance between the source line SL and the bit line BL isdetermined by a state (an on state or an off state) of the transistors500 of the row where reading is to be performed. The conductance of thetransistors 500 on which reading is performed depends on charge in thegate electrodes of the transistors 500. Thus, a potential of the bitline BL varies accordingly. By reading the potential of the bit line BLwith the reading circuit, data can be read from the memory cells of thespecified row.

The semiconductor device illustrated in FIG. 10B includes n source linesSL, n bit lines BL, n first signal lines S1, m second signal lines S2, mword lines WL, and a memory cell array 560 including the plurality ofmemory cells 550(1, 1) to 550(m, n) which is arranged in a matrix of m(rows) (in a vertical direction)×n (columns) (in a horizontaldirection). A gate electrode of the transistor 500, one of the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode of the transistor 510, and one ofelectrodes of the capacitor 520 are electrically connected to oneanother. The source line SL and a source electrode of the transistor 500are electrically connected to each other. The bit line BL and a drainelectrode of the transistor 500 are electrically connected to eachother. The first signal line S1 and the other of the source electrodeand the drain electrode of the transistor 510 are electrically connectedto each other, and the second signal line S2 and a gate electrode of thetransistor 510 are electrically connected to each other. The word lineWL and the other of the electrodes of the capacitor 520 are electricallyconnected to each other.

In the semiconductor device in FIG. 10B, writing operation and readingoperation are performed in each row. The writing operation is performedin a manner similar to that in the semiconductor device illustrated inFIG. 10A. The reading operation is performed as follows. First, apotential at which the transistor 500 is turned off regardless of chargegiven to the gate electrode of the transistor 500 is supplied to theword lines WL of the rows other than the row where reading is to beperformed, so that the transistors 500 of the rows other than the rowwhere reading is to be performed are turned off. Then, a potential(reading potential) at which an on state or an off state of thetransistor 500 is determined depending on charge in the gate electrodeof the transistor 500 is given to the word line WL of the row wherereading is to be performed. After that, a constant potential is suppliedto the source line SL so that a reading circuit (not illustrated)connected to the bit line BL is operated. Here, conductance between thesource lines SL and the bit lines BL is determined by a state (an onstate or an off state) of the transistors 500 of the row where readingis to be performed. That is, a potential of the bit line BL, depends oncharge in the gate electrode of the transistor 500 of the row wherereading is to be performed. By reading the potential of the bit line BLwith the reading circuit, data can be read from the memory cells of thespecified row.

Although the amount of data which can be stored in each of the memorycells 550 is one bit in the above description, the structure of thememory device of this embodiment is not limited to this. The amount ofdata which is stored in each of the memory cells 550 may be increased bypreparing three or more potentials to be supplied to the gate electrodeof the transistor 500. For example, in the case where the number ofpotentials to be supplied to the gate electrode of the transistor 500 isfour, data of two bits can be stored in each of the memory cells.

Next, examples of reading circuits which can be used for thesemiconductor devices in FIGS. 10A and 10B or the like will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 11A to 11C.

FIG. 11A illustrates an outline of a reading circuit. The readingcircuit includes a transistor and a sense amplifier circuit.

At the time of reading of data, a terminal A is connected to a bit lineto which a memory cell from which data is read is connected. Further, abias potential Vbias is applied to a gate electrode of the transistor sothat a potential of the terminal A is controlled.

The resistance of the memory cell 550 varies depending on stored data.Specifically, when the transistor 500 in a selected memory cell 550 ison, the memory cell 550 has a low resistance, whereas when thetransistor 500 in a selected memory cell 550 is off, the memory cell 550has a high resistance.

When the memory cell 550 has high resistance, a potential of theterminal A is higher than a reference potential Vref and the senseamplifier circuit outputs a potential corresponding to the potential ofthe terminal A. On the other hand, when the memory cell 550 has lowresistance, the potential of the terminal A is lower than the referencepotential Vref and the sense amplifier circuit outputs a potentialcorresponding to the potential of the terminal A.

Thus, by using the reading circuit, data can be read from the memorycell 550. Note that the reading circuit of this embodiment is one ofexamples. Alternatively, another known circuit may be used. The readingcircuit may include a precharge circuit. Instead of the referencepotential Vref, a reference bit line may be connected to the senseamplifier circuit.

FIG. 11B illustrates a differential sense amplifier which is an exampleof sense amplifier circuits. The differential sense amplifier has aninput terminal Vin(+), an input terminal Vin(−), and an output terminalVout, and amplifies the difference between Vin(+) and Vin(−). WhenVin(+)>Vin(−), output of Vout is approximately high, whereas whenVin(+)<Vin(−), the output of the Vout is approximately low. In the casewhere the differential sense amplifier is used for the reading circuit,one of Vin (+) and Vin(−) is connected to the input terminal A, and thereference potential Vref is supplied to the other of Vin(+) and Vin(−).

FIG. 11C illustrates a latch sense amplifier which is an example ofsense amplifier circuits. The latch sense amplifier has input/outputterminals V1 and V2 and input terminals for control signals Sp and Sn.First, the control signals Sp and Sn are set to High and Low,respectively, and a power supply potential (Vdd) is interrupted. Then,potentials to be compared are applied to V1 and V2. After that, thecontrol signals Sp and Sn are set to Low and High, respectively, and apower supply potential (Vdd) is supplied. If the potentials V1in andV2in to be compared satisfy V1in>V2in, output of the V1 is High andoutput of the V2 is Low, whereas if the potentials satisfy V1in<V2in,the output of V1 is Low and the output of V2 is High. By utilizing sucha relation, the difference between V1in and V2in can be amplified. Inthe case where the latch sense amplifier is used for the readingcircuit, one of V1 and V2 is connected to the terminal A and the outputterminal through a switch, and the reference potential Vref is suppliedto the other of V1 and V2.

The structures, methods, and the like described in this embodiment canbe combined as appropriate with any of the structures, methods, and thelike described in the other embodiments.

Embodiment 7

In this embodiment, the case where the semiconductor device described inthe above embodiments is applied to electronic devices is described withreference to FIGS. 12A to 12F. The case where the above describedsemiconductor device is applied to electronic devices such as acomputer, a mobile phone (also referred to as a mobile telephone or amobile phone device), a personal digital assistant (including a portablegame machine, an audio reproducing device, and the like), a digitalcamera, a digital video camera, electronic paper, a television set (alsoreferred to as a television or a television receiver) and the like willbe described.

FIG. 12A illustrates a notebook personal computer which includes ahousing 601, a housing 602, a display portion 603, a keyboard 604, andthe like. In each of the housings 601 and 602, the miniaturizedsemiconductor device described in any of the above embodiments isprovided. Therefore, a notebook personal computer having characteristicsof being small, high-speed operation, and low power consumption can berealized.

FIG. 12B illustrates a personal digital assistant (PDA) which includes amain body 611 provided with a display portion 613, an external interface615, operation buttons 614, and the like. In addition, a stylus 612which controls the personal digital assistant and the like are provided.In the main body 611, the miniaturized semiconductor device described inany of the above embodiments is provided. Therefore, a personal digitalassistant having characteristics of being small, high-speed operation,and low power consumption can be realized.

FIG. 12C illustrates an e-book reader 620 which is mounted withelectronic paper and includes two housings of a housing 621 and ahousing 623. The housing 621 and the housing 623 are respectivelyprovided with a display portion 625 and a display portion 627. Thehousing 621 is combined with the housing 623 by a hinge 637, so that thee-book reader 620 can be opened and closed using the hinge 637 as anaxis. The housing 621 is provided with a power button 631, operationkeys 633, a speaker 635, and the like. In at least one of the housing621 and the housing 623, the miniaturized semiconductor device describedin any of the above embodiments is provided. Therefore, an e-book readerhaving characteristics of being small, high-speed operation, and lowpower consumption can be realized.

FIG. 12D illustrates a mobile phone which includes two housings of ahousing 640 and a housing 641. Moreover, the housings 640 and 641 in astate where they are developed as illustrated in FIG. 12D can be slid sothat one is lapped over the other. Therefore, the size of the mobilephone can be reduced, which makes the mobile phone suitable for beingcarried around. The housing 641 includes a display panel 642, a speaker643, a microphone 644, a pointing device 646, a camera lens 647, anexternal connection terminal 648, and the like. The housing 640 includesa solar cell 649 for charging the mobile phone, an external memory slot650, and the like. The display panel 642 has a function as a touchpanel. A plurality of operation keys 645 which is displayed as images isillustrated by dashed lines in FIG. 12D. In addition, an antenna isincorporated in the housing 641. In at least one of the housings 640 and641, the miniaturized semiconductor device described in any of the aboveembodiments is provided. Therefore, a mobile phone havingcharacteristics of being small, high-speed operation, and low powerconsumption can be realized.

FIG. 12E illustrates a digital camera which includes a main body 661, adisplay portion 667, an eyepiece 663, an operation switch 664, a displayportion 665, a battery 666, and the like. In the main body 661, theminiaturized semiconductor device described in any of the aboveembodiments is provided. Therefore, a digital camera havingcharacteristics of being small, high-speed operation, and low powerconsumption can be realized.

FIG. 12F illustrates a television device 670 which includes a housing671, a display portion 673, a stand 675, and the like. The televisiondevice 670 can be operated with an operation switch of the housing 671or a remote controller 680. The miniaturized semiconductor devicedescribed in any of the above embodiments is mounted on the housing 671and the remote controller 680. Therefore, a television device havingcharacteristics of high-speed operation and low power consumption can berealized.

As described above, a semiconductor device according to the aboveembodiments is mounted on the electronic devices shown in thisembodiment. Therefore, an electronic device having characteristics ofbeing small, high-speed operation, and low power consumption can berealized.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial no.2010-024636 filed with Japan Patent Office on Feb. 5, 2010, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

1. (canceled)
 2. A semiconductor device comprising: an oxidesemiconductor layer over an insulating surface; an insulating layer overthe oxide semiconductor layer; an electrode electrically connected tothe oxide semiconductor layer; and a gate electrode overlapping with theoxide semiconductor layer, wherein the insulating layer is in contactwith the insulating surface, wherein a top surface and a side surface ofthe oxide semiconductor layer are in contact with the electrode, andwherein a top surface and a side surface of the insulating layer are incontact with the electrode.
 3. The semiconductor device according toclaim 2, wherein the gate electrode is provided over the oxidesemiconductor layer.
 4. The semiconductor device according to claim 2,wherein the oxide semiconductor layer is provided over the gateelectrode.
 5. The semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein theoxide semiconductor layer comprises indium and zinc.
 6. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 2, further comprising a gateinsulating layer between the oxide semiconductor layer and the gateelectrode.
 7. The semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein theelectrode comprises a first conductive layer and a second conductivelayer having higher resistance than the first conductive layer, andwherein the second conductive layer is in direct contact with the oxidesemiconductor layer.
 8. The semiconductor device according to claim 7,wherein a thickness of the second conductive layer is greater than orequal to 5 nm and less than or equal to 15 nm.
 9. The semiconductordevice according to claim 7, wherein the second conductive layercomprises a nitride of a metal.
 10. A semiconductor device comprising:an oxide semiconductor layer over an insulating surface; an insulatinglayer over the oxide semiconductor layer; an electrode electricallyconnected to the oxide semiconductor layer through an opening in theinsulating layer; and a gate electrode overlapping with the oxidesemiconductor layer, wherein the insulating layer is in contact with theinsulating surface, wherein a top surface and a side surface of theoxide semiconductor layer are in contact with the electrode, and whereina top surface and a side surface of the insulating layer are in contactwith the electrode.
 11. The semiconductor device according to claim 10,wherein the gate electrode is provided over the oxide semiconductorlayer.
 12. The semiconductor device according to claim 10, wherein theoxide semiconductor layer is provided over the gate electrode.
 13. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 10, wherein the oxidesemiconductor layer comprises indium and zinc.
 14. The semiconductordevice according to claim 10, further comprising a gate insulating layerbetween the oxide semiconductor layer and the gate electrode.
 15. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 10, wherein the electrodecomprises a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer havinghigher resistance than the first conductive layer, and wherein thesecond conductive layer is in direct contact with the oxidesemiconductor layer.
 16. The semiconductor device according to claim 15,wherein a thickness of the second conductive layer is greater than orequal to 5 nm and less than or equal to 15 nm.
 17. The semiconductordevice according to claim 15, wherein the second conductive layercomprises a nitride of a metal.